Texas educators praise new school cellphone ban
The new state ban took effect on Sept. 1, and Texas’ more than 1,200 public school districts have adopted policies ranging from secure phone pouches to increased monitoring. Full Story
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Nicholas Gutteridge is a reporting fellow based in College Station. He’s a senior studying political science at Texas A&M University and was editor-in-chief of The Battalion, the student newspaper. Prior to that, he interned at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Air Force Office of Public Affairs, worked on the Mays Business School's marketing and communications team, and reported for KAMU, the public radio station in Brazos County. Nicholas won the 2024 reporter of the year award from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and has earned multiple accolades for investigative reporting. He grew up in Los Fresnos in South Texas.
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![Students eat lunch without devices at Lago Vista High School on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 in Lago Vista, TX. HB 1481 passed during the special legislative session which requires schools to implement a policy prohibiting personal communication devices. Lago Vista has implemented a policy where students stow devices, primarily cell phones, in magnetically locked pouches that also block cell phone service, the devices can be unlocked in the event of an emergency as well as when the students exit the building using a wall mounted key near the building entrance. (Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Video of clash over gender-identity content in Texas A&M children’s lit class leads to firing, removals
After the video fueled outrage, a professor was fired and two college leaders removed from their administrative roles for approving content inconsistent with the course’s description. Full Story
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![The Texas A&M bell tower on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in College Station.]()
Credit: Ishika Samant for The Texas Tribune -
Professors want to leave Texas because of tense political climate, survey says
Professors’ concerns included the state’s DEI ban and new limits to faculty influence at colleges and universities. Full Story
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![The main building of the University of Texas at Austin, in 2012.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge temporarily blocks key parts of state law that limits campus protests
The law banned “expressive activity” on campuses from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., among other restrictions. “The Court cannot trust the universities to enforce their policies in a constitutional way,” the judge said. Full Story
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![Law enforcement leads a pro-Palestinian protester away in custody as they begin to remove demonstrators from an encampment set up in support of Gaza on the UT-Austin campus on April 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribune -
ACLU, other groups sue to block Texas' DEI ban on K-12 public schools
The suit alleges the new state law unconstitutionally silences the viewpoints of students and teachers. The law’s supporters say DEI programs use public funds to promote political agendas. Full Story
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![Temple, Texas - 4/17/25: JoMeka Gray teaches a class of kindergarteners at Kennedy-Powell Elementary in Temple, Texas. Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune