Another school year is right around the corner!

Here’s when Central Texas school districts will open their classroom doors.

READ MORE: Texas tax-free weekend starts Friday. Here’s what you need to know.

Wednesday, August 7

Thursday, August 8

• Llano ISD
• Nixon-Smiley CISD

Monday, August 12

• Bartlett ISD
• Dime Box ISD
• Fayetteville ISD
• Texas School for the Deaf

Tuesday, August 13

• Dripping Springs ISD
• Hays CISD
• Pflugerville ISD
• Round Rock ISD
• San Marcos CISD
• Schulenburg ISD

Wednesday, August 14

• Bastrop ISD
• Blanco ISD
• Burnet CISD
• Coupland ISD
• Eanes ISD
• Elgin ISD
• Flatonia ISD
• Florence ISD
• Fredericksburg ISD
• Giddings ISD
• Gonzales ISD
• Hutto ISD
• Jarrell ISD
• Lake Travis ISD
• Leander ISD
• Lexington ISD
• Liberty Hill ISD
• Luling ISD
• Manor ISD
• Marble Falls ISD
• McDade ISD
• Round Top-Carmine ISD
• Taylor ISD
• Thrall ISD
• Waelder ISD
• Wimberley ISD

Thursday, August 15

• Harper ISD
• La Grange ISD
• Lago Vista ISD
• Georgetown ISD
• Smithville ISD
• Thorndale ISD

Monday, August 19

• Texas School for the Blind/Visually Impaired

Tuesday, August 20

• Austin ISD
• Comal ISD
• Lockhart ISD
• New Braunfels ISD

Wednesday, August 21

Monday, August 26

• Doss CCSD
• Granger ISD
• Prairie Lea ISD

The United States leads the world in semiconductor research, design and innovation. However, our abdication of electronics manufacturing preeminence over the past three decades is an example of the hollowing out of a critical strategic industry.

For this reason, we have high hopes for a $1.4 billion, five-year partnership between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the University of Texas at Austin to establish the first U.S. hub for advanced microelectronics manufacturing. If successful, the partnership could accelerate the resurgence of a domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry.

The irony is that the nation and Texas have been here before, as recently as the 1980s when the federal government, the state and major American semiconductor companies set a goal of keeping the United States the world’s most dominant player in advanced technologies.

But since then, the U.S. semiconductor industry has been on the wrong side of semiconductor manufacturing, having shortsightedly traded its domestic manufacturing capacity for short-term offshore manufacturing cost advantages.

The United States, which gave birth to the microelectronics revolution and once controlled 100% of the semiconductor industry, has seen its market share plummet to roughly 10%, the result of decades of outsourcing, first to Japan and then to the rest of Asia.

Taiwan is now a global leader in the semiconductor industry, producing about two-thirds of the world’s semiconductors and over 90% of the most advanced chips found in smartphones, computers, cars and countless other products. Such concentration of vital electronics offshore, even in the hands of a close ally, poses national security and commercial vulnerabilities. China’s threats against Taiwan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which threatens access to other critical materials used in semiconductor manufacturing, further adds to global risks.

DARPA, which develops advanced technologies for the military, has a long history as a trailblazer tracing back to the 1960s, when the organization paved the way for the modern internet. This time, DARPA is tasked with creating a next-generation domestic center and program to pioneer cutting-edge fabrication techniques.

This collaboration smartly builds from the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which provided billions of dollars to bolster microelectronics research, development and manufacturing in the United States. Through DARPA, the Defense Department will invest $840 million and the state of Texas will invest $522 million into the University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Institute for Electronics, which will house the center.

Texas already is reaping benefits from private and public investments. Samsung and Texas Instruments are investing billions of dollars in new semiconductor plants in Texas. Separately, Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute has a project to increase research and education and train semiconductor workers to support state and federal semiconductor initiatives. And across the country, the Biden administration has taken steps to help foreign manufacturers produce chips in the United States.

America invented the microchip, and Texas could help revive the industry on our shores.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com

CJ Baxter, a sophomore projected as the starting running back for Texas football, suffered a knee injury during Tuesday’s practice and will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, according to reporting by Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods.com.

A fomer five-star recruit in the 2023 class from Florida, Baxter earned the starting job as a freshman last season before a rib injury in the season-opener limited his playing time and opened the door for Jonathon Brooks to seize the starting job. After Brooks’ season ended with a torn knee ligament in November, Baxter and Jaydon Blue shared the bulk of the carries for the final four games of the season, including a loss to Washington in a College Football Playoff semifinal.

More: Texas football RBs CJ Baxter, Jaydon Blue learning pass protection as important as yards

What would Baxter’s absence mean for Texas?

Last season, Baxter tallied 138 carries for 659 yards and five touchdowns to go with 24 receptions for 156 yards while Blue added 398 yards and three touchdowns rushing on 65 carries and another 135 yards on 14 carries. The two were expected to again carry the load in the backfield this season; both Baxter and Blue earned a spot on the preseason Doak Walker Award list, a postseason honor for the nation’s top running back.

Blue, a third-year junior who has played in 23 games, would likely get most of the carries if Baxter misses any time. One of the fastest players on the squad, the 6-foot, 200-pounder from the Houston suburb of Klein boasts game-breaking ability but only has 80 carries in his career.

Sophomore Tre Wisner is expected to handle some third-down duties for Texas this season but could see extended snaps with the absence of Baxter. Freshmen Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark could also be in line for expanded roles.