Texas policymakers, educational leaders, and parents all have a vested interest in ensuring public schools meet high standards—and that starts with a transparent, reliable school accountability system. Recent court rulings and legislative developments are shaping how performance is measured and how school districts are held accountable across the state. On April 3, the Texas 15th Court of Appeals overturned a lower court injunction, clearing the way for the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to release its 2023 school accountability ratings. The A-F Accountability ratings system, established in 2017, is designed to help parents, communities, and lawmakers better understand school quality and student outcomes. While the 2023 ratings are now set for release on April 24, the 2024 ratings remain under legal seal pending a separate ruling. In a concurring opinion, Chief Justice Scott Brister called on the Texas Legislature to prevent future lawsuits from stalling the accountability process, suggesting that these disputes should be addressed through an internal agency process rather than judicial means.  Lawmakers are actively considering legislation to strengthen the accountability framework. Senate Bill 1962 (SB 1962), authored by Senator Paul Bettencourt, recently advanced through the Senate Education K-16 Committee. This bill would prohibit school districts from using taxpayer dollars to sue the state over accountability ratings and would enhance the TEA Commissioner’s authority to enforce performance standards. A similar proposal, House Bill 4 by Chairman Brad Buckley, is under consideration in the House. The Greater Houston Partnership testified in support of SB 1962, reinforcing our belief that a rigorous, transparent accountability system is essential for Texas’ economic competitiveness and long-term workforce readiness.  For more updates and alerts on the Texas Legislature, click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission has finally concluded after an unexpected nine-month journey to the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts aboard; Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams and Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, successfully touched down in Florida on Tuesday evening.  Wilmore and Williams launched into space aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June 2024 as part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Originally planned as a one-week mission, their stay was extended due to technical issues with the spacecraft, leading them to join NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission.  NASA reports that during their mission, Williams and Wilmore traveled 121,347,491 miles, spent 286 days in space and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth. However, their prolonged exposure to microgravity could have brought potential health risks. Studies have shown that extended time in space can have a significant impact on the human body, resulting in muscle atrophy, bone density loss, cardiovascular changes, visual impairments and even an increased risk of cancer. This makes post-mission health assessments and continued research critical.  Upon their return to Earth, the astronauts reunited with their families before being flown to Houston for a comprehensive health evaluation and quarantine at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). With long-duration missions becoming more common as NASA prepares for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit, the health data from Crew-9’s return will play a vital role in shaping future spaceflight standards.  As a leader in both aerospace and healthcare, Houston is the ideal location for these crucial post-mission assessments. The city is home to world-renowned research institutions like Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), which houses the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), a collaboration with the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. TRISH plays a key role in studying the health impacts of space travel and developing countermeasures to address the challenges astronauts face in space, ensuring their long-term well-being as they prepare for future missions.  While TRISH will not be directly conducting the astronauts' health evaluations, the findings from Crew-9’s return could contribute significantly to its ongoing research efforts.  “NASA conducts all health examinations for its astronauts,” Dr. Dorit Donoviel, Executive Director of TRISH, told the Greater Houston Partnership. “While TRISH is not conducting research on the NASA astronauts who returned from space earlier this week, we are confident that Butch and Suni’s extended stay in space will provide invaluable knowledge and insights that will add to our shared goal with NASA of keeping humans healthy during long-duration space missions. Similar data is collected from TRISH’s commercial spaceflight research program, EXPAND, from civilians. Our goal is to get a comprehensive idea of how the human body responds to spaceflight. Private and public partnerships like these allow for us to all move toward furthering human exploration and continue to examine how the harsh environment of space can challenge the body to better prepare astronauts for future missions.”    Last year, TRISH announced a new initiative with Blue Origin, an aerospace company known for its reusable rocket engines, to conduct biomedical research on passengers flying on the company’s New Shepard rocket.  “This initiative enables TRISH to further our research in space medicine by collecting valuable human health data,” said Jimmy Wu, TRISH deputy director and chief engineer and assistant professor at BCM, in a news release. “New data from suborbital flights builds our understanding of how the human body responds to spaceflight. This holistic view is key in keeping humans healthy and safe in space.”  Splashdown confirmed! #Crew9 is now back on Earth in their @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/G5tVyqFbAu — NASA (@NASA) March 18, 2025 Learn more about Houston’s aerospace industry.