Texas
North Texas judge rules against reuniting 2-year-old with mother
NORTH TEXAS – A 2-year-old who was taken into CPS custody after a disagreement over his medical care will not be reunited with his mother, a Denton County judge ruled Tuesday.
A caseworker carried out an emergency removal order last December after Josiah Sanders’ mom, Joslyn Sanders, left a Dallas hospital with him against medical advice.
Sanders spent about three hours on the stand Tuesday afternoon, detailing her son’s medical issues and the care she sought for him.
Ultimately, the judge said he simply didn’t believe her and that he didn’t find her testimony credible, agreeing with the state that there’s “risk of continued danger” to Josiah if he’s returned home.
The judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to show an urgent need for protection required immediate removal.
According to the state, this recent instance was the third complaint of medical neglect against Sanders in a seven-month span. They presented photos of a rash Josiah had all over his body and argued it was related to his severe malnourishment.
After CPS removed him from the home, Josiah spent more than 60 days at Children’s Health Medical Center in Dallas for treatment and still has a feeding tube in his nose.
Sanders testified she had sought treatment for his rash and feeding problems and followed the advice of her pediatrician. She told the court she left the hospital last December because she wanted a second opinion on the antibiotic doctors wanted to treat Josiah with and that no one explained the severity of her son’s condition to her at that time.
Once she understood how sick he was, Sanders told CPS she was willing to take him back to the hospital.
Essentially, it was too late. The order for removal had already been approved, and it was upheld again Tuesday.
“I just want to say that my heart is broken,” said Sanders, after the judge made his decision. “I feel like the wrong decision was made, given all the evidence presented… I want to tell my son Josiah that I love him and I miss him and I did everything in my power to bring him back home today.”
Josiah’s caseworker did take the stand earlier in the day and admitted to making some mistakes in the removal process.
She also testified that she left out what could be considered key information in her affidavit to the court, like the fact that Sanders agreed to bring Josiah back to a hospital.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to convince the judge to rule in Sanders’ favor. He ordered services for her, “so she can learn how to properly nourish the child so he doesn’t get in a desperate, life-threatening state again.”
Sanders’ attorney, Brenda DeRouen, says their team will continue to fight to reunite Josiah with his mother.
“I think it’s unfortunate that this judge made a verbal admonishment of my client’s credibility when the evidence showed that CPS was not credible, that medical providers, based on their medical records, were not credible or consistent,” said DeRouen. “…I think that we have a Texas Family Code that this court did not follow. I believe that CPS has a pamphlet and a manual, a protocol that was not followed. And I think it’s unfortunate that this was the result that we got here today.”
Both sides agreed Josiah is now doing well and his health has improved over the past several months, but Sanders’ attorney argues she would have had the same results if she’d been given the opportunity to continue managing his care.
Texas
How to Watch Temple vs North Texas: Live Stream NCAA College Football, TV Channel
The North Texas Mean Green (10-1) looks for a program-record 11th win and a spot in the American championship game on Friday afternoon when they host a Temple Owls (5-6) squad still trying to become bowl eligible after three straight losses.
How to Watch Temple vs North Texas
- When: Friday, November 28, 2025
- Time: 3:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Fubo (try for free)
North Texas won its fifth straight game on Saturday night, rolling to a 56-24 road victory at Rice after erasing an early 14-0 deficit. Drew Mestemaker threw for 469 yards, finishing 19-of-23 with three touchdowns, and also ran for a score. Caleb Hawkins ran for 97 yards and three TDs on 20 carries, and Ashton Gray also had a rushing touchdown. Wyatt Young had a huge night with eight catches for 295 yards and two scores, and Tre Williams III caught a TD pass.
Temple’s slide continued on Saturday with a 37-13 loss to visiting Tulane. Evan Simon threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns, but the running game was limited to just 20 yards. Colin Chase and Peter Clarke made scoring catches in the loss. Simon absorbed four sacks before he was pulled from the game.
Eric Morris was announced on Tuesday as the new head coach at Oklahoma State and will leave North Texas at the end of the season. The Mean Green haven’t won a conference title since the 2004 Sun Belt championship and have a simple win-and-in scenario to reach the American championship game. They are 2-0 all-time against Temple, including a 24-17 road win on Nov. 30.
This is a great college football matchup that you will not want to miss; make sure to tune in and catch all the action.
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Texas
Guidelines for Texas’ controversial school voucher program released
TEXAS (KTRK) — The State Comptroller’s Office has released guidelines for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts. This program is also referred to as school choice or school vouchers, and has stirred up controversy.
It’s funded through $1B taxpayer dollars, and while proponents say it gives families the choice to pick the best education for their child, critics have said it takes money away from already underfunded and struggling public school systems.
This program is open to students in pre-K through high school. Standard students who wish to attend a state-approved private school can receive approximately $10,800 per child, per year.
Students with disabilities or additional learning needs must have their individual education program, or IEP, on file with the school district to be eligible for up to $30,000 per student, per year
And homeschooled children can get up to $2,000 per child, per year.
SEE ALSO: Private school vouchers are now law in Texas. Here’s how they will work
State law dictates that priority will be given to children who have siblings already in the program and based on income and the federal poverty line. If more students enroll than funding allows, a lottery will be instituted.
Eyewitness News previously reported that the funds would probably fund around 90,000 students, even though the Texas Education Agency estimated in 2024 that over 5 million school-aged children live in Texas.
The first important enrollment date comes for private schools and vendors who want to accept voucher students, and is part of the one billion dollars the state is pouring into it. The State Comptroller’s office says schools and vendors can start signing on through Odyssey on Dec. 9. Odyssey is the company the state selected to run the voucher lottery and operate a platform that allows families to spend the money awarded to them by the state.
The second important date comes for families, which is Feb. 4. That’s when families can start signing up students. The State Comptroller said this gives the state and families ample time to make decisions ahead of the 2026-27 school year
The State Comptroller said schools that wish to apply for the program must have a Texas location and have been accredited for at least two years, but this applies to schools both in and outside of Texas, so in theory, a program accredited outside of Texas could build a campus in the state this year and still be eligible.
SEE ALSO: ABC13 obtains exclusive HISD student enrollment records for 2025-26 school year
The state is also dictating that private schools wishing to be a part of the program will have to administer an assessment to voucher students in grades 3 through 12
The program will be monitored by the State Comptroller’s office, which will partner with a private group to audit the program at least once a year.
State education groups pushed the state to be more transparent about how families were spending money and where, though our partners at the Houston Chronicle note the state rejected those ideas.
For more news updates, follow Lileana Pearson on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Copyright © 2025 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Texas
Pack Closes Maui Invitational with Loss to Texas – NC State University Athletics
The Longhorns hit 16 three-pointers, shooting 50 percent from long-range for the game. The 16 three-pointers tie for the most ever made by an NC State opponent.
The first 12 minutes of the game featured the two teams going back and forth, but with Texas holding a 25-23 the Longhorns went on an extended 20-7 run to take its largest lead of the game, 45-30, with 1:33 to play.
The Pack ended the half on a mini 7-2 run to go into the locker room down 10, 47-37.
NC State opened the second half on a 16-7 run to get within one on a Paul McNeil three-pointer with 15:09 to play.
Texas stayed in front though until Alyn Breed drove past the Longhorn defense to lay it in and give the Pack a 71-70 lead with 7:51 to go.
The lead was short-lived though as Texas immediately responded with a 10-0 spurt to retake the lead and the Pack was never able to get closer than five points the rest of the way.
Quadir Copeland led NC State with a career-high 28 points. He finished the game 10-of-14 from the field and also had a team-high six assists.
Ven-Allen Lubin finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 23 points and nine rebounds while Paul McNeil finished with 20 points.
It’s the first time NC State has had three players all score 20 or more points in the same game in more than 20 years.
NC State ended the game with a 46-20 advantage in points in the paint, but Texas had a 24-7 advantage in fast break points and the Longhorns shot 55.8 percent from the field and made 28 of its 34 free throw attempts.
NC State is back in action next Wednesday when it plays at Auburn as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge. Tipoff at Auburn is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on ESPN.
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