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It’s been more than two months since the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Harris County Flood Control District released long-awaited draft maps highlighting updated flood risks across the region. While the maps are a work in progress, residents are wondering how the changes will impact their bills.

The big picture: FEMA requires all property owners with a federally-backed mortgage living in a 100-year floodplain—areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding—to obtain flood insurance through private insurers or the National Flood Insurance Program, known as NFIP.  

Emily Woodell, HCFCD chief external affairs officer, said new insurance requirements won’t take effect until the map is finalized in two to three years. She said HCFCD doesn’t know the exact number of homes now mapped in a floodplain, but there was a “significant expansion in the maps” driven by a 30% increase in rainfall rates.

More details: As for cost, Houston-area insurance agent Jose Medrano said every property is unique, and the map alone no longer determines premiums. Standard homeowners policies don't cover flood-related damages, he said. 

Harris County commissioners are set to receive a number of financial updates ahead of budget season on May 14 alongside over 400 additional agenda items.

The big picture: According to agenda documents, commissioners are set to receive updates from the Harris County Office of Management and Budget regarding the county's financial standings so far in fiscal year 2025-26.

Commissioners will also receive an update on the five-year financial plan to avoid additional budget shortfalls by finding ways to generate revenue and create savings opportunities.

Also on the agenda: With the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching, commissioners will also receive an update on security and general preparedness for the event.

Stay tuned: Harris County Commissioners Court meetings are held at 9 a.m. in Downtown Houston. The administration building is located at 1001 Preston St., Houston.

Lone Star College System’s calendar for the 2027-28 school year—which features student start dates of Aug. 30, 2027, and Jan. 18, 2028, for the fall and spring semesters, respectively—was approved by the college system’s board of trustees May 7.

At a glance: The fall semester will run Aug. 30-Dec. 19-2027, for students and Aug. 23-Dec. 19, 2027, for faculty. The spring semester will last from Jan. 18-May 14, 2028, for students and from Jan. 10-May 14, 2028 for faculty. LSCS’ calendar was distributed to employees before being finalized.

Dates to know: According to the calendar, two “minimesters” will be held:

• Winter, which will run Dec. 20, 2027 to mid-January 2028
• May, which will run May 15 to early-to-mid June 2028

• June 5-July 11, 2028
• July 13-Aug. 20, 2028

Roughly 76,000 fewer students were enrolled in Texas public schools this academic year than the year prior, according to May 11 report.

The overview: The 2025-26 school year marks the second recorded enrollment drop in recent history, according to Texas Education Agency data collected since the 1987-88 academic year. The first decline happened in the 2020-21 school year, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hispanic students accounted for 81% of the enrollment loss in the 2025-26 school year, the policy research group Texas 2036 found.

The local impact: School districts across Community Impact’s coverage areas are in the process of closing and consolidating campuses, citing enrollment declines and budget shortfalls. Statewide data shows that 130 campuses have been selected for closure in the past two years.

What they're saying: “This year, we are down students, and these [drops] are somewhat more accelerated than statewide demographic trends indicated,” TEA Commissioner Mike Morath told lawmakers May 11. “We cannot tell you the precise cause of this. We just know that it has occurred.”