What you need to know for back to school in Katy ISD

What’s new?

For the 2025-26 school year, the district will open two new elementary schools: Alfred and Ann Boudny Elementary in Elyson and James and Mitzi Cross Elementary in Sunterra. Boudny will help reduce crowding at Youngblood Elementary, while Cross will ease enrollment at Faldyn and Robertson elementary schools, per the district website.

What’s changing?

Students will no longer be able to use their personal devices, including cellphones, tablets and headphones, during the school day, following the passage of House Bill 1481 in June and revisions made to the Student Code of Conduct in July.

New discipline policies under House Bill 6 allow teachers to remove students after one disruptive incident, permit out-of-school suspension for young and homeless students in specific cases and expand in-school suspension and expulsion options, including virtual alternatives.

Additional updates include mandatory student ID badges, redefined academic dishonesty statements to include AI use and an expanded cyberbullying definition to cover AI-generated deepfakes.

Important to note

Bus schedules: Katy ISD uses the Edulog system, which integrates GIS and parcel data, to accurately determine bus service eligibility for elementary students living over half a mile away and secondary students living over one mile from their school, per the website.

Students enrolled in Katy ISD can download the SMART tag app to find their bus routes, while newly-enrolled students can use the district website to determine eligibility.

Nutrition: Full-paying elementary students pay $2.25 for lunch, while secondary students pay $2.75, according to the website. Students at select campuses are eligible for free lunch, while other students have to submit an application to receive benefits, per the website.

To learn about income eligibility for free or reduced lunch, click here.

Registration: According to the district’s website, students not currently enrolled in the district can register online as of July 25 with required documents, including:

• A utility bill within 30 days of occupancy
• Birth certificate
• Government-issued identification card of the person registering the student
• Proof of immunizations, legible in English
• Report card or transcript from the most recently attended school

The board of trustees will meet for its next work study meeting Aug. 18, per district documents.

Find a full list of Greater Houston back-to-school events here.