DTX-MCK: Impact 9/26/2025

📈 With nearly 1 in 5 McKinney ISD students now receiving special education services, district officials are focusing on ways to recruit and retain special education teachers.

The gist: McKinney ISD has seen a 65.8% increase in its special education student population in the last decade, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. Special education services can support students with various disabilities, such as autism or emotional and intellectual disabilities.

“It’s our obligation to educate every child in McKinney ISD regardless of any special needs they might have,” MISD school board President Amy Dankel said.

The impact: While officials don’t point to a specific cause for the increased special education enrollment, the growth has increased the district’s costs.

"As McKinney ISD continues to grow, so does our responsibility to ensure that every student receives the support they need to thrive,” Superintendent Shawn Pratt said in an emailed statement. “We have seen a significant increase in our special education population, and we are responding with expanded resources—including additional staffing, additional facilities, and increased budget allocations.”

🏸 Velocity Badminton recently opened in McKinney, a company representative said.

What they offer: The facility features 14 courts as well as observation areas for parents, the company website states. Badminton skills training sessions are offered for members and non-members will be able to reserve courts, the representative said.

🍳 California-based breakfast, brunch and lunch chain Broken Yolk Cafe will open four new locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including eateries in Plano, Frisco and Allen, according to a Sept. 23 company news release. JP Wu and John Zhang, franchisees of the four new locations, have also purchased the franchise's existing restaurant in McKinney.

On the menu: The restaurant’s menu features a variety of breakfast items including seven types of egg Benedicts, pancakes, waffles, avocado toast, crepes, skillets and more. Lunch items include burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads and soups.

Quote of note: “The coming locations will continue to target suburban cities in north [Dallas-Fort Worth], given the tremendous population growth and business expansion the area has seen in recent years,” Zhang said in the release.

Many Texas retailers can no longer sell consumable THC products to customers under 21 years old after the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission approved two emergency rules Sept. 23.

The overview: The new rules, which were drafted after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a Sept. 10 executive order requesting tighter THC regulations, apply only to retailers that sell alcohol. The rules state that businesses may not sell, serve or deliver consumable hemp products to minors and must check all customers' IDs before selling them THC products.

Zooming in: About 60,000 Texas businesses hold TABC licenses and will be prohibited from selling THC products to minors. Those businesses include bars, restaurants, liquor stores, grocery stores and some convenience stores.

However, the rule does not apply to THC retailers that do not sell alcohol or have a TABC license, such as smoke shops, gas stations or online sellers. The TABC and the Texas Department of State Health Services are working to determine how to best enforce age restrictions for THC retailers that do not sell alcohol, agency spokespeople said.