The Texas Stars will open their 2026-27 season with a home game against the Iowa Wild at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Friday, Oct. 2.

The details: The game is set for 7 p.m. The team is running two promotions for the opening game, $3 beer and a magnet schedule giveaway, according to the team's website.

As of the time of publication, tickets start at $37 each or $31 each if purchased in a family pack of four.

H-E-B Center at Cedar Park is a cashless venue. It also adheres to a clear bag policy, although exceptions may be made for diaper bags or bags required for medical purposes, according to the venue's website.

The Stars will play the Wild again Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.

A recent report on disciplinary actions in Round Rock ISD shows out-of-school suspensions and alternative school placements are declining, as in-school suspensions rose slightly.

District administrators said this is due to a targeted effort to keep students on campus and, if possible, in the classroom.

Explained: Out-of-school suspensions dropped by 43% between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, the report shows.

Officials attributed this decrease to the following:

• Requiring multiple approvals to place a student in OSS or DAEP

• Using district data to pinpoint common misbehavior patterns at the campus level and address them

• Using a root-cause intervention model to support students rather than penalize them, including behavior coaching, classroom "timeouts" and check-ins with school counselors

• The reclassification of THC e-cigarettes from a mandatory expulsion to DAEP placement

• District penalization for high DAEP placement rates

What they're saying: "This is a passion area of mine—keeping students on campus and making sure that they're in the classroom and we're developing the whole child," said Zach Oldham, who oversees discipline and alternative education program placements.

Additions to Leander High School, a new H-E-B in Buda and an apartment in Austin are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the metro this week.

1. Leander ISD high school modernization ($68 million): This project involves building additions and renovations at Leander High School.

2. H-E-B ($61.2 million): A new H-E-B grocery store is coming to Buda, with construction set to begin next spring.

3. The Ridge Apartments ($11.8 million): This project involves the construction of a four-story multifamily building

4. Residence Inn ($11 million): The hotel brand is coming to Hutto, with construction set to begin in December.

5. Texas State University pitching lab and batting cages ($4 million): This project includes an addition to the existing softball pitching facility and a new pre-engineered metal building to house baseball's pitching and hitting facility.

The Texas Education Agency is asking state lawmakers to spend $97.3 billion on K-12 education initiatives and staffing in the next two years, up from about $91 billion in the current state budget.

The details: During a Sept. 29 hearing on the agency's legislative appropriations request, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath noted that the TEA is "largely a pass-through vehicle to fund schools around the state of Texas." This means that while funding would be allocated to the agency under Article III of the state budget, the majority of that money would be sent to school districts, outside of funds used to pay TEA staff and cover operations for associated entities, such as the State Board of Education.

The TEA is asking for about $49.6 billion for fiscal year 2027-28 and $47.7 billion for fiscal year 2028-29, totaling $97.3 billion for the 2028-29 biennium. Morath said those amounts would "preserve 100% of all funding for public schools" through the Foundation School Program, which is the state's main funding source for K-12 schools, and other initiatives.