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HISD Now “District of Innovation”

ABOVE: Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles observes a classroom on Aug. 11 at Sugar Grove Academy in Houston’s Sharpstown neighborhood. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) Houston Independent School District is officially a “District of Innovation.” The HISD Board of Managers voted unanimously, 8-0, in favor of the new status at a meeting on Dec. 14. […]
The post HISD Now “District of Innovation” first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 years ago

December 24, 2023

Forward Times Staff

ABOVE: Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles observes a classroom on Aug. 11 at Sugar Grove Academy in Houston’s Sharpstown neighborhood. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing)

Houston Independent School District is officially a “District of Innovation.” The HISD Board of Managers voted unanimously, 8-0, in favor of the new status at a meeting on Dec. 14. (One board member was absent, as was the district superintendent.) The move gives HISD the power to alter class sizes and disciplinary measures — and to hire uncertified teachers.

“HISD is a District of Innovation,” said Superintendent Mike Miles in a press release. “We are making the bold changes required to improve instruction and help students develop the competencies they will need to succeed in the future. Having the DOI designation is long overdue and will allow us to accelerate our work in important ways.” It will also allow his district to bypass or sidestep state laws, which nearly every school district in the state has done since the 2015 passage of HB 1842. That law, co-written by State Rep. Harold Dutton, paved the way for the HISD takeover in the first place.

And the writing was on the wall months ago. At a community meeting back in April, one woman warned listeners: “I want everyone to know that HB 1842 also brought with it ‘District of Innovation,’ which gives the districts that participate the same freedoms as charter schools – freedoms to circumvent state laws that protect students, teachers and parents’ rights, including the right to a certified teacher,” she said. But after the recent board vote, that’s all changed.

District of Innovation

A District of Innovation, Miles said, is exempt from “certain statutory requirements.” To put it more bluntly: “A DOI allows more than 60 exemptions from state laws over school operations.” The current plan allows just seven exemptions. Some are student-centered: for example, HISD wants to allow high school juniors and seniors to spend more than two school days visiting colleges without having unexcused absences.

One exemption concerns a rule where students caught vaping are sent to a DAEP. A Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, or DAEP, is an alternative program for students temporarily removed from class for disciplinary reasons. Miles said some kids will be sent to in-school suspension; others will be suspended out-of-school. “There’s always going to be consequences,” he said at a press conference on Nov. 15.

At that same presser, District Advisory Committee member Celeste Barreto Milligan took the mic to share why she supports the policy change. “I think that the law is unjust,” she said. “You may know that in Texas, you can arrest and jail a child as young as 10 years old […] Immediately sending them to a DAEP situation opens the doors for them to get into the school-to-prison-pipeline,” she said. “I have two middle-school boys; I would hate for them to be held accountable at that level for such a mistake. I’m going to hold them accountable; I’m their mom. [But] I don’t want to see them enter the school-to-prison pipeline, especially as children of color.”

Another exemption pertains to minimum attendance for class credit or final grade. Under current rules, students must attend at least 90% of class days to get final grades. HISD wants flexibility in determining attendance requirements (i.e. ensuring that student attendance is at least 70% for each course). Elementary and middle school students must adhere to the current statute.

School Year

One of the exemptions allows HISD to start school earlier. Statute says a school district may not start before the fourth Monday in August. HISD’s DOI plan proposes that “the first day of school for the 2024-2025 academic year be no earlier than Aug. 7 and no later Aug. 14.” (The DOI plan cites research from a Harvard study of third graders, stating that extending the school year by more than 10 days improves student achievement more than grade retention or smaller class sizes.) The current HISD calendar has 172 days of instruction for students; the DOI calendar would have at least 180 instructional days.

“Houston ISD cannot improve academic proficiency for all students or close the pernicious achievement gaps that affect our students of color, students with special education needs, and students from economically disadvantaged communities without more high-quality instructional days,” the district plan said. It also argues that the move will help teachers pace their curriculum equally, provide students with an equitable amount of learning time and give them an extra week of instruction in advance of STAAR testing.

Teacher Hiring

Another DOI exemption allows HISD to hire uncertified teachers and counselors. Specifically, it allows HISD to hire high school teachers who do not have certification — without getting a waiver from the state or notifying parents. The board also voted in favor of hiring uncertified counselors. (The exemption does not apply to special education teachers, bilingual/ESL teachers, or pre-K teachers. Those requirements cannot be waived.)

“This will allow HISD to fill vacancies in positions that are hard to staff and will help give all students a constant classroom teacher,” the action plan says. Its authors claim that the teacher shortage spurred this change: “The District will continue to prioritize hiring credentialed teachers but will allow campuses to pursue innovative staffing methods to fill hard-to-staff positions to ensure all students have access to a high-quality teacher.”

But this move isn’t approved by everyone. Houston Federation of Teachers president Jackie Anderson blasted the DOI shift as “sinister” in a withering statement: “Evidence of teacher expertise and knowledge apparently doesn’t matter much to the board, since this plan allows HISD to hire uncertified teachers without a waiver and conceal that from families. The secrecy shows that Miles realizes parents would not approve of this.

The plan also allows class sizes to increase for elementary grades, when smaller class sizes are crucial for optimum learning; permits schools to dispense with a campus behavior coordinator, as if chronic misbehavior doesn’t impede instruction or safety; and allows for a custom teacher evaluation system with no teacher input,” Anderson said. “The District of Innovation plan is only innovative in that no other school district interested in investing in real solutions, not destroying public education, would even consider these provisions. This plan will last for five years, the entire length of time a child attends elementary school—the formative years when everything after depends on that foundation.”

It’s unclear what kind of foundation students will have when they return to school next year.

The post HISD Now “District of Innovation” appeared first on Forward Times.

The post HISD Now “District of Innovation” first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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