Austin, TX
Cell phones in North Texas classrooms up for debate in Austin in January
The days of students taking their cell phones to class may soon be coming to an end. Lawmakers return to Austin in January when they will debate banning cell phones in public schools.
So far Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, and California have either limited or banned cell phones in K-12 schools.
Some districts in North Texas have already taken that step with more to come.
Take for example Robert T. Hill Middle School in Dallas. They’ve banned cell phones in class for five years and have seen test scores go up and behavior problems go down.
When lawmakers return to Texas, they’ll debate House Bill 515 which requires every district in the state to have a policy banning electronic during the school day.
“Our kids are desperate for us to pull them out of this black hole of addiction that they’ve fallen into. Most teens are spending upwards of five hours a day on social media,” said Texas Rep. Ellen Troxclair (R-Austin).
NBC 5 spoke to the author of the bill, Austin Republican Ellen Troxclair, on Lone Star Politics. She filed the bill after reading about a consistent increase in mental health issues: self-harm and depression since the launch of social media.
“Well, you know, there’s a reason that we don’t send kids to school with packs of cigarettes, right? So when you cross the line from something that is truly addictive, that is truly causing social harm,” Troxclair said.
The pushback in the halls of the capitol may come from major cell phone companies like Apple and Google and social media companies like Meta, X, and TikTok but maybe the strongest opposition may come from parents who are used to constant communication with their children throughout the day.
The details will be fleshed out in mid-January when the session starts.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas’ highway system dropped two spots since 2025, and now ranks at No. 27 in the country for its cost-effectiveness and overall conditions, according to the Reason Foundation’s 2026 Highway Report.
The report assessed pavement conditions, fatalities, deficient bridges, infrastructure costs and congestion levels across the United States. Texas earned the following rankings:
- 33rd in urban interstate pavement conditions
- 21st in rural interstate pavement conditions
- 39th in urban arterial pavement conditions
- 12th in rural arterial pavement conditions
- 3rd in structurally deficient bridges
- 26th in urban fatality rate
- 42nd in rural fatality rate
- 41st in traffic congestion
“More than 42,000 of the nation’s 618,923 highway bridges, nearly 7%, are still structurally deficient. Arizona, Nevada, and Texas reported the lowest percentages of deficient bridges,” the report said.
The full report can be found online.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Small hail peppered the Austin area as strong thunderstorms moved through Saturday.
A few of the storms dropped rain and up to pea-sized hail in San Marcos, Dripping Springs and the Austin metro area.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Williamson County around 8:15 p.m., and then canceled shortly after. However, it was enough for the Two Step Inn music festival in Georgetown to cancel shows for the rest of the evening. Event organizers say the festival will run as planned Sunday.
KXAN’s First Warning Weather team is monitoring the storms. We will update this post as the evening continues.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument at the Texas State Cemetery on Saturday, dedicated to Texas Revolutionary War soldiers.
“We must educate every generation about why it is that America grew from a tenuous 13 colonies into the most powerful country in the history of the world,” said Governor Abbott. “This monument here is an enduring testament to the heroes who fought for the freedom that is unique to America.”
The monument was dedicated to 69 soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Texas, according to a press release.
Among those that were honored, Abbott recognized:
- José Santiago Seguín, grandfather of Texas Revolutionary hero Juan Seguín.
- Peter Sides, who fought in the 2nd Battalion of the North Carolina Regiment of the Colonial Army, and was later killed in the 1813 Battle of Medina, fighting for Mexican independence against Spain.
- Antonio Gil Y’Barbo, the founder of Nacogdoches.
- William Sparks, who fought as a mounted rifleman in the American Revolution and later settled in Texas. He had two sons and two grandsons who fought in the Texas Revolution.
“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which not only gave freedom to the British colonies of North America, but inspired movements for freedom and liberty all over the world,” said TSSAR President Mel Oller. “Texans played a role in the war too, and it’s important to recognize them, and the sacrifices they made for our freedom.”
At the monument unveiling, Abbott was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution and received its Silver Good Citizenship Medal.
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