Nearly 100 students start Pflugerville ISD’s early college high school program
Pflugerville ISD’s first-ever Early College High School program kicked off the 2025-26 school year at its host campus Pflugerville High School with 97 students.
How it works: ECHS students will receive a high school diploma and an associate degree from Austin Community College upon graduation, equal to 60 college credits that can apply to a range of college majors.
Students will increase the number of college courses they take each semester through the following schedule:
9th grade: 1 course in the spring semester
10th grade: 2 courses in the fall and 2 courses in the spring
11th grade: 3 courses each semester
12th grade: 4 courses each semester
What you need to know: The program is open to any eighth grade students committed to remaining in the program for the full four years, and the district will enter into a weighted lottery system should the number of applicants go above its threshold.
What else?: Tuition and textbooks are free for participating students, and PfISD will provide transportation to PHS for students living within district boundaries.
Hutto ISD trustees voted to adopt a district tax rate of $1.2052 per $100 valuation for fiscal year 2025-26 at an Aug. 28 meeting.
The overview: The rate breaks down into on a $0.7552 maintenance and operation rate, which is used to fund most district operations, and a $0.45 interest and sinking rate used to service debt.
The $1.2052 rate is the same as the FY 2024-25 rate, with no increase or decrease.
Inaugural State of Healthcare Workforce Forum highlights local concerns around shortage, talent pools
Higher education costs, a booming population and aging workforce are all challenges identified by health care executives at the state and local level in a first-time health care forum held at Austin PBS in August.
The setup: Hosted by Workforce Solutions Capital Area, Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area and the Central Texas Healthcare Partnership, with support from the St. David's Foundation, the State of Healthcare Workforce Forum brought experts from the state and regional level to discuss challenges impacting the health care industry and its workforce Aug. 26.
Connxus joins national network coordinating health care for Central Texans across state lines
Central Texas residents may now have a more streamlined experience when receiving health care outside of the state.
Connxus, a Central Texas health care nonprofit, joined a national network of health information exchanges known as the Patient Centered Data Home in June. The platform helps Central Texas patients receive care and exchange their health information with medical providers across the country.
How it works: If a Central Texas resident requires medical attention when they are in another state, Connxus can collaborate with other health information exchanges to alert their home provider. The network can then share a patient's medical records with an out-of-state provider and ensure the patient receives follow-up care back home.
What they're saying:“We are able to better care for the Central Texas residents, because we know what is taking place in their medical history across the state lines,” Connxus CEO Eliel Oliveira said.
Gov. Abbott signs new congressional map; Texas Democrats vow to fight in court
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas’ new congressional map into law Aug. 29, declaring in a video posted to social media that “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.”
The details: Under Texas’ current congressional boundaries, Republicans hold 25 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats. State lawmakers have said the new map will help them gain up to five more during the 2026 midterm elections.
Texas Democrats have called the mid-decade redistricting effort unconstitutional and "racially discriminatory," while Republicans asserted that the map "complies with the law" and was designed to help more Republicans get elected to the U.S. House.
Next steps: Texas’ new congressional map is set to take effect in early December, although it will be discussed in court two months earlier. After state senators approved the map Aug. 23, the League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of Texas residents filed a lawsuit asking that the map be found unconstitutional.
A panel of three federal judges will hear arguments in the case Oct. 1-10 in El Paso.
