does texas have homework

Texas Teacher’s ‘No Homework’ Rule Strikes a Chord With Parents

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By now, you’ve probably seen the note a 2 nd grade teacher in Godley, Texas, sent home with her students saying she would not give any assigned homework this year.

A parent posted the note to Facebook , and it went viral. As of this afternoon, it’s been shared more than 73,000 times.

In the note, teacher Brandy Young wrote, “research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance,” and she asked parents, “to spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success,” such as reading together and getting your kids to bed early.

In an interview with the Star-Telegram, Young said, “I want my students to have a full life. I want them to develop their whole person, not just this paper-and-pencil student that they can be working on in the classroom. When my students go home, they have other things they need to learn there... The homework outside of the room needs to be meaningful, engaging, and relevant. When I re-evaluated what I was sending home, paper-and-pencil practice, I decided it wasn’t meaningful, and it wasn’t relevant, and it wasn’t engaging for my kids.”

Many parents praised the move and used the opportunity to lament their young children’s long, arduous homework assignments.

Cathy Vatterott is a professor of education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis . She’s written about this topic extensively. Her book, Rethinking Homework , was published in 2009. She said in the past 10 to 15 years more elementary schools have implemented homework policies that set limits on the practice, while some have eliminated homework altogether in favor of having students spend a certain amount of time reading each night.

10-Minute Rule

The schools that seek to limit homework often encourage teachers to abide by what’s known as the 10-minute rule, which is advocated by the national PTA and the National Education Association. It calls for students to have 10 minutes of homework per grade level. So students in 1st grade would have 10 minutes of homework, while students in 2 nd grade would have 20 minutes and so on.

Vatterott credited parents for this shift away from homework in elementary school and categorizes it as part of the balance movement.

“Adults are saying we need work-life balance,” said Vatterott. “Now they’re saying we want that for our children as well.”

She said there are also more concerns now about elementary students feeling stressed and suffering from ailments related to that condition.

And, then there’s the research showing homework offers little to no benefit for children in the early grades.

“There’s a lot of homework out there that is not helping kids,” said Vatterott. “It’s busy work. It’s not contributing to kids’ actual learning.”

She said too many teachers are assigning more homework than the 10-minute rule allows.

“The teachers are piling it on because they think that rigor equals load,” said Vatterott. “Piling it on does not mean, ‘Oh, we’re a really tough, rigorous school.’”

Quality Assignments?

She said when she started researching homework 18 years ago she began to question some of the work that was being assigned.

“My joke is the word search put me over the edge,” said Vatterott. “Why are we doing a word search? Why are we finding these words in a sea of letters? What is the educational value of that? I think parents are getting more skeptical, and I think they’re getting more militant. They’re starting to just say ‘No, we’re not doing this.’”

There are those who say homework is not really about the work when it comes to elementary students. They suggest that learning to complete assignments teaches children responsibility.

But Vatterott disagrees.

“I think it teaches compliance and obedience, that no matter what crappy task gets sent home I have to do this,” said Vatterott, who argues that she is not anti-homework.

“I am for reasonable amounts of homework that can be done without help,” said Vatterott. “I am against excessive work. I’m against busy work, and I’m against failing kids for not doing homework.”

She supports the 10-minute rule but stresses it has to be time-based not task-based. So while it might take one student 20 minutes to do 10 math problems it might take another student 40 minutes, and teachers have to account for that.

“I think that is developmentally appropriate in the sense of how much sleep kids need, how much downtime they need, how hard they’re working during that day,” said Vatterott. “I would be fine if we would stick to the 10-minute rule in elementary school, and I’m also OK if we say we’re not going to do homework at all and maybe introduce it in the 4 th or 5 th grade.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the Time and Learning blog.

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A Closer Look At One Texas Teacher's No-Homework Policy

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What if there was no homework for the entire school year?

A Texas teacher wrote a letter to parents of her second grade class telling them just that .

Brandy Young of Godley Elementary School, in Godley, Texas, wrote, "Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance. Rather, I ask that you spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside, and get your child to bed early."

Here & Now 's Meghna Chakrabarti speaks with pediatrician Dr. Jeffrey Brosco , a professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, about the idea.

Interview Highlights: Dr. Jeffrey Brosco

On Young's claim that research has been "unable to prove that homework improves student performance"

"That's true, although it depends on the age of the child. There's been 30 or 40 years of research looking at this. If you look at elementary schools kids, up until fifth grade or so, there really is no evidence that homework improves academic outcomes.

If you measure kids who get homework, who don't get homework, compare them — their reading, writing, math skills are pretty much the same at the end of the year. So from that point of view, she's absolutely right. There's probably some reason to start doing homework in middle school and high school, probably one to two hours seems to be the right amount for, especially high schoolers. That does seem to improve academic outcomes."

"We want to encourage curiosity, we want to encourage a love of learning, a good relationship with trying to figure out what's happening in the world, rather than making it all about worksheets." Dr. Jeffrey Brosco

On other possible benefits of homework, like focus and discipline

"These are all ideas that homework might be useful for. Again, there's not research showing that it does. I've heard parents say this is a good way for the school to communicate what a child is learning because they see what the worksheets show. The problem, of course, is to the degree that parents take on the homework as their own, then that chance of independence and organization and responsibility can get lost."

On alternatives to traditional homework

"I should point out that there are entire school systems, like in the country of Finland and Sweden, where there is absolutely no homework and the kids' academic outcomes are really superior. So we should probably be rethinking school a little bit, especially in the elementary school years.

We want to encourage curiosity, we want to encourage a love of learning, a good relationship with trying to figure out what's happening in the world, rather than making it all about worksheets. If you're learning about math, the assignment might be like talk to your parents at home and figure out ways they use math. So maybe you play a board game, or cook something with one of your parents, or maybe you build something."

On using homework as a strategy to close the achievement gap

"More homework is not the way to do it. We have to be careful about how we think about parent involvement, more generally. It turns out that things that are more important are for parents to have an expectation that their child will do well and go to college. That their parents are generally interested: 'What did you learn today, what happened in school?' Perhaps to some degree, that parents help make sure that children get the teacher that best fits their personality and learning style.

A lot of the other things that are routinely touted as important — going to the school, meeting with the teachers, joining the PTA, doing a whole lot of other things — probably don't make as much difference. Sometimes we label parents as not being involved while it's not clear it's the best for their child."

On what elementary education should focus on

"The natural curiosity of children really should drive a lot of what we are doing with learning. The idea is that math and reading and writing and those sorts of skills are just that — they're skills to use in the world, not an end in of themselves."

Dr. Jeffrey P. Brosco , director of the Mailman Center for Child Development and professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

This article was originally published on August 25, 2016.

This segment aired on August 25, 2016.

More from Here & Now

Is Homework Good for Kids? Here’s What the Research Says

A s kids return to school, debate is heating up once again over how they should spend their time after they leave the classroom for the day.

The no-homework policy of a second-grade teacher in Texas went viral last week , earning praise from parents across the country who lament the heavy workload often assigned to young students. Brandy Young told parents she would not formally assign any homework this year, asking students instead to eat dinner with their families, play outside and go to bed early.

But the question of how much work children should be doing outside of school remains controversial, and plenty of parents take issue with no-homework policies, worried their kids are losing a potential academic advantage. Here’s what you need to know:

For decades, the homework standard has been a “10-minute rule,” which recommends a daily maximum of 10 minutes of homework per grade level. Second graders, for example, should do about 20 minutes of homework each night. High school seniors should complete about two hours of homework each night. The National PTA and the National Education Association both support that guideline.

But some schools have begun to give their youngest students a break. A Massachusetts elementary school has announced a no-homework pilot program for the coming school year, lengthening the school day by two hours to provide more in-class instruction. “We really want kids to go home at 4 o’clock, tired. We want their brain to be tired,” Kelly Elementary School Principal Jackie Glasheen said in an interview with a local TV station . “We want them to enjoy their families. We want them to go to soccer practice or football practice, and we want them to go to bed. And that’s it.”

A New York City public elementary school implemented a similar policy last year, eliminating traditional homework assignments in favor of family time. The change was quickly met with outrage from some parents, though it earned support from other education leaders.

New solutions and approaches to homework differ by community, and these local debates are complicated by the fact that even education experts disagree about what’s best for kids.

The research

The most comprehensive research on homework to date comes from a 2006 meta-analysis by Duke University psychology professor Harris Cooper, who found evidence of a positive correlation between homework and student achievement, meaning students who did homework performed better in school. The correlation was stronger for older students—in seventh through 12th grade—than for those in younger grades, for whom there was a weak relationship between homework and performance.

Cooper’s analysis focused on how homework impacts academic achievement—test scores, for example. His report noted that homework is also thought to improve study habits, attitudes toward school, self-discipline, inquisitiveness and independent problem solving skills. On the other hand, some studies he examined showed that homework can cause physical and emotional fatigue, fuel negative attitudes about learning and limit leisure time for children. At the end of his analysis, Cooper recommended further study of such potential effects of homework.

Despite the weak correlation between homework and performance for young children, Cooper argues that a small amount of homework is useful for all students. Second-graders should not be doing two hours of homework each night, he said, but they also shouldn’t be doing no homework.

Not all education experts agree entirely with Cooper’s assessment.

Cathy Vatterott, an education professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, supports the “10-minute rule” as a maximum, but she thinks there is not sufficient proof that homework is helpful for students in elementary school.

“Correlation is not causation,” she said. “Does homework cause achievement, or do high achievers do more homework?”

Vatterott, the author of Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs , thinks there should be more emphasis on improving the quality of homework tasks, and she supports efforts to eliminate homework for younger kids.

“I have no concerns about students not starting homework until fourth grade or fifth grade,” she said, noting that while the debate over homework will undoubtedly continue, she has noticed a trend toward limiting, if not eliminating, homework in elementary school.

The issue has been debated for decades. A TIME cover in 1999 read: “Too much homework! How it’s hurting our kids, and what parents should do about it.” The accompanying story noted that the launch of Sputnik in 1957 led to a push for better math and science education in the U.S. The ensuing pressure to be competitive on a global scale, plus the increasingly demanding college admissions process, fueled the practice of assigning homework.

“The complaints are cyclical, and we’re in the part of the cycle now where the concern is for too much,” Cooper said. “You can go back to the 1970s, when you’ll find there were concerns that there was too little, when we were concerned about our global competitiveness.”

Cooper acknowledged that some students really are bringing home too much homework, and their parents are right to be concerned.

“A good way to think about homework is the way you think about medications or dietary supplements,” he said. “If you take too little, they’ll have no effect. If you take too much, they can kill you. If you take the right amount, you’ll get better.”

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April 24, 2018

Should Students Have Homework? 8 Strategies for Assigning Effective Homework

Recently in the news, the debate around students and homework has resurfaced. Some schools are cancelinghomework, while others keep piling it on. The no-homework policy for a second-grade teacher in Texas went viral in August, earning praise from parents, and some educators, across the country who lament the heavy workload often assigned to students. No matter what age or grade level, parents always seem to question workload – they want their child to have as much homework as they remember having, or they insist that no homework is assigned. No matter what is said, someone is going to be dissatisfied.

So what is a teacher to do? New solutions and approaches to homework are consistently being “discovered,” but they differ by community, and even experts appear to disagree about what’s best for kids. While many of you may love the idea of removing homework completely, we understand that this most likely is not a reasonable expectation. So, how can you create homework assignments that have authentically positive outcomes? Below are 8 strategies you can use when assigning homework to do just that.

• Share your philosophy on homework with parents so they have the opportunity to ask questions and share concerns. Parents appreciate knowing the “lay of the land” so they know how to help their student at home. Keep that particular line of communication open so parents know they can ask questions when they need to.
• Many teachers are turning to a “flipped classroom,” enabling students to watch lesson videos at home, leaving class time devoted to answering questions and helping students with their individual needs.
• Be sure your assignments have a clear purpose that is understood by students. If they have this understanding, students are more likely to complete assignments.
• Create homework assignments that apply skills taught in the classroom to real-life situations within the home and community.
• Assign homework that actively engages students with their families to enhance bonding, increase positive time spent together, and demonstrate to family members that learning can occur outside of the classroom.
• Student choice always increases engagement, so create a selection of homework assignments that reinforce skills in focused categories and allow students to choose ones they would like to complete according to their interests.
• Have a well-structured schedule for homework so that students can anticipate assignments. Giving your students an outline of upcoming assignments can help avoid many homework-related problems.
• Be mindful about the amount of homework assigned. Homework types and amounts should be consistent with individual student needs. As educators well know, 10 minutes of work for one student can easily be an hour’s work for another.

By remaining purposeful and communicative about homework and its purpose, teachers can be sure to use homework as just one tool for learning, rather than the end-all, be-all. Relationships with students and parents can soften the messages around homework, and can help teachers maintain and defend their credibility and rationale. Homework doesn’t have to be a necessary evil, rather, it can be an effective instructional tool accepted (maybe even embraced?) by parents and students alike.

Looking for more information or additional homework strategies? Or want to examine the role homework has played in the culture of schooling over the years, and explore what research and educators’ common sense tell us about its impact on student learning? Enroll in Learners Edge Course 5045: Assignment Homework: Where, When and Why and do some deep thinking about how you approach homework, and perhaps you can solve the great debate around, “should students have homework?”

Learners Edge is passionately committed to providing you with continuing education coursework, materials, and tools that will help you succeed in your classroom and in your career.

Offering more than  100 print-based or online courses  for teachers, you can earn the graduate credit you need for salary advancement and meet your professional development needs.  Contact us today  to get started!

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The Cult of Homework

America’s devotion to the practice stems in part from the fact that it’s what today’s parents and teachers grew up with themselves.

America has long had a fickle relationship with homework. A century or so ago, progressive reformers argued that it made kids unduly stressed , which later led in some cases to district-level bans on it for all grades under seventh. This anti-homework sentiment faded, though, amid mid-century fears that the U.S. was falling behind the Soviet Union (which led to more homework), only to resurface in the 1960s and ’70s, when a more open culture came to see homework as stifling play and creativity (which led to less). But this didn’t last either: In the ’80s, government researchers blamed America’s schools for its economic troubles and recommended ramping homework up once more.

The 21st century has so far been a homework-heavy era, with American teenagers now averaging about twice as much time spent on homework each day as their predecessors did in the 1990s . Even little kids are asked to bring school home with them. A 2015 study , for instance, found that kindergarteners, who researchers tend to agree shouldn’t have any take-home work, were spending about 25 minutes a night on it.

But not without pushback. As many children, not to mention their parents and teachers, are drained by their daily workload, some schools and districts are rethinking how homework should work—and some teachers are doing away with it entirely. They’re reviewing the research on homework (which, it should be noted, is contested) and concluding that it’s time to revisit the subject.

Read: My daughter’s homework is killing me

Hillsborough, California, an affluent suburb of San Francisco, is one district that has changed its ways. The district, which includes three elementary schools and a middle school, worked with teachers and convened panels of parents in order to come up with a homework policy that would allow students more unscheduled time to spend with their families or to play. In August 2017, it rolled out an updated policy, which emphasized that homework should be “meaningful” and banned due dates that fell on the day after a weekend or a break.

“The first year was a bit bumpy,” says Louann Carlomagno, the district’s superintendent. She says the adjustment was at times hard for the teachers, some of whom had been doing their job in a similar fashion for a quarter of a century. Parents’ expectations were also an issue. Carlomagno says they took some time to “realize that it was okay not to have an hour of homework for a second grader—that was new.”

Most of the way through year two, though, the policy appears to be working more smoothly. “The students do seem to be less stressed based on conversations I’ve had with parents,” Carlomagno says. It also helps that the students performed just as well on the state standardized test last year as they have in the past.

Earlier this year, the district of Somerville, Massachusetts, also rewrote its homework policy, reducing the amount of homework its elementary and middle schoolers may receive. In grades six through eight, for example, homework is capped at an hour a night and can only be assigned two to three nights a week.

Jack Schneider, an education professor at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell whose daughter attends school in Somerville, is generally pleased with the new policy. But, he says, it’s part of a bigger, worrisome pattern. “The origin for this was general parental dissatisfaction, which not surprisingly was coming from a particular demographic,” Schneider says. “Middle-class white parents tend to be more vocal about concerns about homework … They feel entitled enough to voice their opinions.”

Schneider is all for revisiting taken-for-granted practices like homework, but thinks districts need to take care to be inclusive in that process. “I hear approximately zero middle-class white parents talking about how homework done best in grades K through two actually strengthens the connection between home and school for young people and their families,” he says. Because many of these parents already feel connected to their school community, this benefit of homework can seem redundant. “They don’t need it,” Schneider says, “so they’re not advocating for it.”

That doesn’t mean, necessarily, that homework is more vital in low-income districts. In fact, there are different, but just as compelling, reasons it can be burdensome in these communities as well. Allison Wienhold, who teaches high-school Spanish in the small town of Dunkerton, Iowa, has phased out homework assignments over the past three years. Her thinking: Some of her students, she says, have little time for homework because they’re working 30 hours a week or responsible for looking after younger siblings.

As educators reduce or eliminate the homework they assign, it’s worth asking what amount and what kind of homework is best for students. It turns out that there’s some disagreement about this among researchers, who tend to fall in one of two camps.

In the first camp is Harris Cooper, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University. Cooper conducted a review of the existing research on homework in the mid-2000s , and found that, up to a point, the amount of homework students reported doing correlates with their performance on in-class tests. This correlation, the review found, was stronger for older students than for younger ones.

This conclusion is generally accepted among educators, in part because it’s compatible with “the 10-minute rule,” a rule of thumb popular among teachers suggesting that the proper amount of homework is approximately 10 minutes per night, per grade level—that is, 10 minutes a night for first graders, 20 minutes a night for second graders, and so on, up to two hours a night for high schoolers.

In Cooper’s eyes, homework isn’t overly burdensome for the typical American kid. He points to a 2014 Brookings Institution report that found “little evidence that the homework load has increased for the average student”; onerous amounts of homework, it determined, are indeed out there, but relatively rare. Moreover, the report noted that most parents think their children get the right amount of homework, and that parents who are worried about under-assigning outnumber those who are worried about over-assigning. Cooper says that those latter worries tend to come from a small number of communities with “concerns about being competitive for the most selective colleges and universities.”

According to Alfie Kohn, squarely in camp two, most of the conclusions listed in the previous three paragraphs are questionable. Kohn, the author of The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing , considers homework to be a “reliable extinguisher of curiosity,” and has several complaints with the evidence that Cooper and others cite in favor of it. Kohn notes, among other things, that Cooper’s 2006 meta-analysis doesn’t establish causation, and that its central correlation is based on children’s (potentially unreliable) self-reporting of how much time they spend doing homework. (Kohn’s prolific writing on the subject alleges numerous other methodological faults.)

In fact, other correlations make a compelling case that homework doesn’t help. Some countries whose students regularly outperform American kids on standardized tests, such as Japan and Denmark, send their kids home with less schoolwork , while students from some countries with higher homework loads than the U.S., such as Thailand and Greece, fare worse on tests. (Of course, international comparisons can be fraught because so many factors, in education systems and in societies at large, might shape students’ success.)

Kohn also takes issue with the way achievement is commonly assessed. “If all you want is to cram kids’ heads with facts for tomorrow’s tests that they’re going to forget by next week, yeah, if you give them more time and make them do the cramming at night, that could raise the scores,” he says. “But if you’re interested in kids who know how to think or enjoy learning, then homework isn’t merely ineffective, but counterproductive.”

His concern is, in a way, a philosophical one. “The practice of homework assumes that only academic growth matters, to the point that having kids work on that most of the school day isn’t enough,” Kohn says. What about homework’s effect on quality time spent with family? On long-term information retention? On critical-thinking skills? On social development? On success later in life? On happiness? The research is quiet on these questions.

Another problem is that research tends to focus on homework’s quantity rather than its quality, because the former is much easier to measure than the latter. While experts generally agree that the substance of an assignment matters greatly (and that a lot of homework is uninspiring busywork), there isn’t a catchall rule for what’s best—the answer is often specific to a certain curriculum or even an individual student.

Given that homework’s benefits are so narrowly defined (and even then, contested), it’s a bit surprising that assigning so much of it is often a classroom default, and that more isn’t done to make the homework that is assigned more enriching. A number of things are preserving this state of affairs—things that have little to do with whether homework helps students learn.

Jack Schneider, the Massachusetts parent and professor, thinks it’s important to consider the generational inertia of the practice. “The vast majority of parents of public-school students themselves are graduates of the public education system,” he says. “Therefore, their views of what is legitimate have been shaped already by the system that they would ostensibly be critiquing.” In other words, many parents’ own history with homework might lead them to expect the same for their children, and anything less is often taken as an indicator that a school or a teacher isn’t rigorous enough. (This dovetails with—and complicates—the finding that most parents think their children have the right amount of homework.)

Barbara Stengel, an education professor at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, brought up two developments in the educational system that might be keeping homework rote and unexciting. The first is the importance placed in the past few decades on standardized testing, which looms over many public-school classroom decisions and frequently discourages teachers from trying out more creative homework assignments. “They could do it, but they’re afraid to do it, because they’re getting pressure every day about test scores,” Stengel says.

Second, she notes that the profession of teaching, with its relatively low wages and lack of autonomy, struggles to attract and support some of the people who might reimagine homework, as well as other aspects of education. “Part of why we get less interesting homework is because some of the people who would really have pushed the limits of that are no longer in teaching,” she says.

“In general, we have no imagination when it comes to homework,” Stengel says. She wishes teachers had the time and resources to remake homework into something that actually engages students. “If we had kids reading—anything, the sports page, anything that they’re able to read—that’s the best single thing. If we had kids going to the zoo, if we had kids going to parks after school, if we had them doing all of those things, their test scores would improve. But they’re not. They’re going home and doing homework that is not expanding what they think about.”

“Exploratory” is one word Mike Simpson used when describing the types of homework he’d like his students to undertake. Simpson is the head of the Stone Independent School, a tiny private high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, that opened in 2017. “We were lucky to start a school a year and a half ago,” Simpson says, “so it’s been easy to say we aren’t going to assign worksheets, we aren’t going assign regurgitative problem sets.” For instance, a half-dozen students recently built a 25-foot trebuchet on campus.

Simpson says he thinks it’s a shame that the things students have to do at home are often the least fulfilling parts of schooling: “When our students can’t make the connection between the work they’re doing at 11 o’clock at night on a Tuesday to the way they want their lives to be, I think we begin to lose the plot.”

When I talked with other teachers who did homework makeovers in their classrooms, I heard few regrets. Brandy Young, a second-grade teacher in Joshua, Texas, stopped assigning take-home packets of worksheets three years ago, and instead started asking her students to do 20 minutes of pleasure reading a night. She says she’s pleased with the results, but she’s noticed something funny. “Some kids,” she says, “really do like homework.” She’s started putting out a bucket of it for students to draw from voluntarily—whether because they want an additional challenge or something to pass the time at home.

Chris Bronke, a high-school English teacher in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, told me something similar. This school year, he eliminated homework for his class of freshmen, and now mostly lets students study on their own or in small groups during class time. It’s usually up to them what they work on each day, and Bronke has been impressed by how they’ve managed their time.

In fact, some of them willingly spend time on assignments at home, whether because they’re particularly engaged, because they prefer to do some deeper thinking outside school, or because they needed to spend time in class that day preparing for, say, a biology test the following period. “They’re making meaningful decisions about their time that I don’t think education really ever gives students the experience, nor the practice, of doing,” Bronke said.

The typical prescription offered by those overwhelmed with homework is to assign less of it—to subtract. But perhaps a more useful approach, for many classrooms, would be to create homework only when teachers and students believe it’s actually needed to further the learning that takes place in class—to start with nothing, and add as necessary.

When is the next total solar eclipse in the US after 2024 and what is its path? What to know

The highly anticipated 2024 total solar eclipse will cross North America on Monday , giving millions of sky-gazers the chance to see a rare cosmic event that won't be viewable again for 20 years.

The eclipse's  path of totality  will travel over a portion of northern Mexico before entering the U.S. It then it will cross 13 states  from Texas to Maine, where the spectacle is expected to attract huge crowds.

If you aren't lucky enough to be in the path of totality this time around, you will have another chance - you'll just have to wait until the 2040s.

Here's what we know about the next total solar eclipse to cross over the U.S.

Eclipse playlist: Fans return to Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' ahead of total solar eclipse

When is the next total solar eclipse visible from the U.S.?

It will be 20 years before there's a chance to  witness a total solar eclipse  in the United States again.

According to NASA, after Monday's total solar  eclipse , the next one viewable from the contiguous U.S. will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

2044 total solar eclipse path of totality

Unfortunately, the 2044 total  solar eclipse  won't have the broad reach across the U.S. as the 2024 eclipse.

The path of totality during the 2044 eclipse will only touch three states, according to the Planetary Society, a nonprofit involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy.

The eclipse will begin in Greenland, sweep through Canada and end around sunset in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Pets and the eclipse: Will my pets be safe during the April 2024 solar eclipse? What experts say.

2045 solar eclipse

While the 2044 total eclipse will only touch three states, a 2045 eclipse will have a more robust path across the U.S.

Expected to occur on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2045, this solar eclipse will trace a path of totality over California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

A partial solar eclipse will also be viewable in 35 other states, according to National Eclipse.com

What is a total solar eclipse?

Any celestial object like a moon or a planet that passes between two other bodies can create  an eclipse  by obscuring the view of objects like the sun.

In the event of a solar eclipse, the moon comes in between the Earth and the sun, blocking its light from reaching a small part of our planet. Partial eclipses, when some part of the sun remains visible, are the most common, making total eclipses a rare sight to behold.

Total eclipses can lead to a period of darkness lasting for several minutes, during which time nocturnal animals stir while confused birds and insects may fall silent, NASA says.

When a solar eclipse reaches totality, people are able to see the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona, which is usually obscured by the sun's bright surface. This offers scientists an uncommon opportunity  to study the corona .

Totality also offers spectators a chance to gaze upon the spectacular sight with the naked eye, though  proper  safety  glasses  are still required for the rest of the time.

What states are on the 2024 eclipse path of totality?

Mexico's Pacific coast will be the first location in continental North America to experience totality, which is expected to occur at about 11:07 a.m. PDT,  according to NASA .

As the moon's shadow will northeast, totality in the U.S. will begin in Texas at 1:27 p.m. CDT. The path will then cut diagonally across the country, traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

The eclipse's path is expected to end in Maine at 3:35 p.m. EDT before visiting the maritime provinces of Canada, according to estimates.

See  interactive maps of the 2024 path .

Contributing: Doyle Rice, Ramon Padilla & Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY

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Can’t Find Eclipse Glasses? Here’s What to Do.

You can watch a projection of the eclipse using some common household items.

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By Katrina Miller

Follow our live updates on the total solar eclipse .

Reliable paper-framed glasses are by far the most popular option for safely watching the total solar eclipse on Monday. But they’ve gotten more difficult to find in some places ahead of the event.

If you’ve checked everywhere — your local planetarium, public library and even online — fear not: There is still a way to watch the eclipse safely, using items around the house. Here are a few options.

Use your hands

Palms up, position one hand over the other at a 90-degree angle. Open your fingers slightly in a waffle pattern, and allow sunlight to stream through the spaces onto the ground, or another surface. During the eclipse, you will see a projection of the moon obscuring the surface of the sun.

This method works with anything with holes, such as a straw hat, a strainer, a cheese grater or even a perforated spoon. You will also notice this effect when light from the partially eclipsed sun streams through leaves on a tree.

Set up a cardstock screen

For this option, you need a couple of white index cards or two sheets of cardstock paper. First, punch a small hole in the middle of one of the cards using a thumbtack or a pin.

Then, facing away from the sun, allow light to stream through this pinhole. Position the second card underneath to function as a screen. Adjust the spacing between the two cards to make the projection of the sun larger or smaller.

Make a box projector

If you’re up for a bit of crafting, you can make a more sophisticated pinhole projector . Start with a cardboard box — empty cereal boxes are often used, but you can use a larger box, too. You’ll also need scissors, white paper, tape, aluminum foil and a pin or thumbtack.

Cut the piece of paper to fit the inside bottom of the cardboard box to act as a screen. Use tape to hold it in place.

On the top of the box, cut two rectangular holes on either side. (The middle should be left intact — you can use tape to secure this if needed.)

Tape a piece of aluminum foil over one of the rectangular cutouts. Punch a tiny hole in the middle of the foil with the tack or pin. The other cutout will serve as a view hole.

With your back to the sun, position the foil side of the box over your shoulder, letting light stream through the pinhole. An image of the sun will project onto the screen at the bottom of the box, which you can see through the view hole. A bigger box will create a bigger image.

Enjoy the show through any of these makeshift pinholes. And remember, during totality, you can view the sun directly with your naked eye. But you should stop looking at the sun as soon as it reappears.

Katrina Miller is a science reporting fellow for The Times. She recently earned her Ph.D. in particle physics from the University of Chicago. More about Katrina Miller

Parents of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley both sentenced to 10-15 years for involuntary manslaughter

PONTIAC, Mich. — The first parents to ever be charged , then convicted, in their child’s mass shooting at a U.S. school were both sentenced Tuesday to 10 to 15 years in prison after they faced the victims' families at a sentencing hearing in a Michigan courtroom.

James Crumbley, 47, and his wife, Jennifer, 46, were sentenced one after another by Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews as they appeared together for the first time since they attended joint hearings before their landmark trials were separated last fall. Their son, Ethan, now 17, pleaded guilty as an adult to the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit and was sentenced to life in prison.

Matthews' sentencing decision was in line with what Oakland County prosecutors had asked for after both parents were found guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each of the students their son killed.

Matthews told the Crumbleys that the jury convictions were "not about poor parenting" but about how they repeatedly ignored warning signs that a "reasonable person" would have seen.

"These convictions confirm repeated acts that could have halted an oncoming runaway train," she said.

The couple will get credit for time served in an Oakland County jail since their arrests in the wake of the shooting on Nov. 30, 2021. The pair sat apart at the defense table with their lawyers beside them as the families of the four students who were killed asked before sentencing for the maximum terms to be imposed.

"When you texted, 'Ethan don't do it,'  I was texting, 'Madisyn I love you, please call mom,'" Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of shooting victim Madisyn Baldwin, 17, told the Crumbleys. "When you found out about the lives your son took that day, I was still waiting for my daughter in the parking lot.

"The lack of compassion you've shown is outright disgusting," she added through tears.

Jill Soave, the mother of another slain student, Justin Shilling, 17, said the parents' inaction on the day of the shooting "failed their son and failed us all."

Justin's father, Craig Shilling, said he was troubled by Jennifer Crumbley's testimony during her trial in which she said she would not have done anything differently, even today.

"The blood of our children is on your hands, too," Craig Shilling said.

James Crumbley wore an orange jumpsuit and headphones to help with his hearing, and Jennifer Crumbley wore a gray-and-white jumpsuit. He did not look at his wife, while she glanced in his direction.

In Michigan, prosecutors said, felonies that rise out of the same event must run concurrently, so the most Matthews could have imposed is 15 years in total. And while prosecutors wanted the parents to receive sentences that exceeded the advisory guideline range, Matthews had the ultimate discretion, weighing factors such as past criminal behavior and the circumstances of their crimes.

Before she was sentenced, Jennifer Crumbley told the court that she felt "deep remorse, regret and grief" about the shooting, but she also deflected some of the blame onto school officials and took offense to the prosecution's strategy portraying her as a neglectful mother .

"We were good parents," Crumbley said. "We were the average family. We weren't perfect, but we loved our son and each other tremendously."

James Crumbley also addressed the court, explaining to the judge that he did not know beforehand about his son's planned attack on his school and telling the victims' families directly that he would have acted differently on the day of the shooting.

"Please note that I am truly sorry for your loss as a result of what my son did," he said. "I cannot express how much I wish I had known what was going on with him or what was going to happen."

Matthews said during Tuesday's sentencing that the family would not be housed together and that the state Corrections Department has indicated James and Ethan Crumbley specifically will not be in the same facility given their relationship. Ethan is being held in a state prison 17 miles from Oxford High School. Jennifer Crumbley would be sent to the state's only women's prison.

James and Jennifer Crumbley have not been able to communicate as part of a no contact order since their arrests.

In both parents' cases, prosecutors wrote that their "gross negligence changed an entire community forever."

They both could have prevented the shooting with "tragically simple actions," prosecutors wrote, adding that they "failed to take any action when presented with the gravest of dangers."

Legal experts had suggested James Crumbley could have faced a harsher sentence than his wife after prosecutors said he made threats in jail.

During his trial, Matthews restricted his communication to only his lawyer and clergy.

The sentencing memo for James Crumbley referred to allegations that he made threats against the prosecutor and said that "his jail calls show a total lack of remorse" and that "he blames everyone but himself."

The memo details the expletive-ridden threats he is alleged to have directly addressed to the prosecutor on multiple recorded jail calls. In one call before the trial, he said, "Karen McDonald, you're going down," according to prosecutors. In other calls, he threatened retribution, they said.

James Crumbley’s lawyer, Mariell Lehman, wrote in court documents that the calls did not include threats to physically harm the prosecutor but that he expressed his desire to ensure that McDonald is not able to continue practicing law as a result of her actions in the case.

"It is clear Mr. Crumbley is venting to loved ones about his frustrations related to the lack of investigation done by the prosecution prior to authorizing charges," Lehman wrote, saying her client is understandably angry at his situation.

The prosecution's memo also says James Crumbley asserted his innocence in a pre-sentence report, indicating a lack of remorse.

"I feel horrible for what happened and would do anything to be able to go back in time and change it! But I can't. And I had nothing to do with what happened," he wrote, according to the prosecution memo. "I don't know why my son did what he did. HE is the only one who knows."

Lehman has not said whether she plans to appeal James Crumbley's verdict, while a lawyer for Jennifer Crumbley, Shannon Smith, has written that she will.

Two separate trials

James Crumbley did not take the stand during his trial. His wife testified that she placed the responsibility of securing the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun used in the shooting on her husband.

Asked whether she would have done anything differently, Jennifer Crumbley told jurors, "I don't think I'm a failure as a parent."

Prosecutors argued that she knew of her son's deteriorating mental health and social isolation and that he had access to a gun but that she cared more about her hobbies and carrying on an extramarital affair than about being present at home.

Her defense lawyer attempted to portray her as a caring mother, albeit one who did not know her son was capable of such violence — suggesting instead that his school failed to fully inform her of his troubles and that her husband was responsible for the weapon.

Smith continued to defend her client in her sentencing memo.

"Criticizing Mrs. Crumbley for being 'rarely home' is a sexist and misogynistic attack on a mother," Smith wrote.

In a pre-sentence report, Jennifer Crumbley said she has the hindsight now to know she would have handled things differently.

"With the information I have now, of course my answer would be hugely different," she said. "There are so many things that I would change if I could go back in time."

Both her and her husband's trials centered on the day of the shooting.

A day after Thanksgiving, prosecutors said, James Crumbley bought their son the handgun, while Jennifer Crumbley took him to a gun range that weekend.

On Tuesday, a teacher said she had found a note on Ethan's desk with a drawing of a gun and a person who had been shot, along with messages including: "The thoughts won't stop. Help me."

That discovery prompted the school to summon the parents for a meeting, but school officials testified that they declined to bring him home because they had to go back to work.

The officials also said that if the parents had informed them that their son had access to a gun, they would have been more authoritative to ensure immediate safety.

Ethan would go on to commit the school shooting later that afternoon, killing Baldwin; Shilling; Tate Myre, 16; and Hana St. Juliana, 14.

Victims' families want accountability

In the aftermath of the trials, the victims' families have demanded further accountability. They are seeking changes to governmental immunity laws that protect schools from being sued and want to see a requirement for independent reviews after any mass shooting.

Oakland County prosecutors have said they do not plan to charge anyone else in connection with the massacre.

Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, said during Tuesday's sentencing that families still want a government-led investigation.

"It's time to drive real change from this tragedy," he told the judge.

Later, James Crumbley stood and addressed Buck Myre directly when he was given the chance to speak.

"It is time that we all know the truth," he said. "I, too, want the truth, because you have not had it."

Selina Guevara and Maggie Vespa reported from Pontiac and Erik Ortiz from New York.

Selina Guevara is an NBC News associate producer, based in Chicago.

NBC News Correspondent

Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.

The 5 stages of the 2024 total solar eclipse explained for April 8

On Monday, April 8, the 2024 total solar eclipse will sweep through the sky over North America. 

While all of North America and Central America will experience at least a partial  solar eclipse , those within a path with a width of approximately 115 miles (185 kilometers) passing over 15 U.S. States. Mexico, and Canada will also witness a totality as the moon entirely covers the disk of the sun.

You can  watch the total solar eclipse live on Space.com . You can also keep up with all the eclipse-related action with our  total solar eclipse 2024 live updates  blog.

Don't be in the dark about the 2024 total eclipse

There are three major types of solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse like that on April 8 occurs when the moon is relatively close to Earth and blocks the entire disk of the sun. 

Because the moon's orbit around our planet is an ellipse, sometimes it is further away and thus appears smaller. An eclipse at these times sees the moon only an obscure part of the solar disk, with the sun appearing as a glowing ring of fire. These events are called annular solar eclipses , and the last one seen over the U.S. occurred on Oct. 14, 2023.

Finally, a partial solar eclipse is an event that happens when the Earth, moon, and sun are not perfectly aligned, resulting in the lunar disk only covering part of our star, making the sun appear as if a bite has been taken out of it. Partial eclipses also happen at the beginning and ending stages of total and annular eclipses.

On April 8, 2024, the moon will be in its new moon phase , and it will look relatively large, meaning it is capable of covering 100% of the sun's disk as viewed from the narrow path of totality. The fraction of the diameter of the sun covered by the moon is known as the magnitude of a solar eclipse . On April 8, 2024, this value will be 1.0566,  according to EclipseWise.com , slightly more than total coverage. 

NASA has released an interactive map of the total eclipse, which space enthusiasts can use to track the totality as it drifts across the globe. However, location won't be the only factor affecting the appearance of the total solar eclipse on Monday. The eclipse will pass through 5 distinct stages, with each of these phases occurring at different times across different locations.

What are the stages of the annular solar eclipse? 

Stage 1: first contact.

In the initial stage of the eclipse, the moon will begin to pass in front of the sun, kick-starting a partial solar eclipse. During this phase, the darkened lunar disk of the moon will make the sun appear as if a bite has been taken out of its illuminated face. This "bite" will get bigger and bigger as the totality approaches.

During the first stage of the total solar eclipse, some onlookers will be able to see rapidly moving, long, dark bands called " shadow bands " on the sides of buildings or the ground. Bailey's beads , caused by light streaming through the valleys on the horizon of the moon, may also be visible at the moon's edges during this initial stage. These phenomena repeat during the second partial eclipse that occurs after totality.

On April 8, this stage of the partial eclipse will first be seen near Pu‘uali‘i, Hawaii, at  6:27 a.m. local time (12:27 p.m. EDT, 1627 GMT).

Stage 2: Second contact

First contact will last for between 70 and 80 minutes, and its conclusion will be marked by a single bright spot, or " diamond ring ," appearing at the edge of the moon. This marks the second contact stage and heralds the oncoming totality. 

On April 8, the total solar eclipse will make landfall at Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, at 9:51 a.m. local time (12:51 p.m. EDT, 16:51 GMT).

Stage 3: Totality

Stage 3 and the mid-point of the total solar eclipse is the totality.  At this point, the moon completely covers the solar disk. During the totality of the outer atmosphere of the sun, the corona may become visible as white streamers at the edge of the moon. This region is usually washed out by bright light from the solar surface, the photosphere. The inner atmosphere of the sun, the chromosphere , may be visible as a wispy aura around the edge of the moon.

The totality may also make stars and planets visible in the darkened sky that are usually not visible from America during daylight hours. 

On April 8, the first location to experience totality will be Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico at  11:07 a.m. local time  (2:07 p.m. EDT, 1807 GMT). The first location to experience totality in the U.S. will be Near Florentino Ramos Colonia, Texas, at 1:27 p.m. local time (2:27 p.m. EDT, 1827 GMT).

The duration of the totality depends on the path from which the eclipse is viewed. In Mexico, totality will last for 40 minutes and 43 seconds. Skywatchers in the U.S. will collectively experience totality for 67 minutes and 58 seconds. Onlookers in Canada will experience the totality of the solar eclipse for 34 minutes and 4 seconds.

Stage 4: Third contact

The fourth stage of the total solar eclipse, third contact, will see the moon start to move away from the disk of the sun, thus ending the totality and starting the second partial eclipse period. Brightening appears on the opposite side of the moon as it did during the second contact period.

At this time, skywatchers will get another chance to spot Baily's Beads along the edge of the moon and shadow bands on the buildings and ground around them, with this stage mirroring the second contact stage. 

The total solar eclipse ends on the Atlantic coast at 5:16 p.m. local time (3:46 p.m. EDT, 1946 GMT). 

Stage 5: Fourth contact

The fifth and final stage of the total solar eclipse. The moon moves away from the disk of the sun, meaning that at fourth contact, the moon is no longer even partially eclipsing the sun. At this point, 2024's total solar eclipse will be over.

On April 8, on the Atlantic coast of  Newfoundland and Labrador, the partial eclipse phase ends at 6:18 p.m. local time (4:48 p.m. EDT, 2048 GMT).

If you intend to view any of these stages, the most important thing to consider is how to safely view it. Looking at the sun without adequate protection at any time is harmful to the eyes, so eclipse watchers should take precautions on Monday. 

Sunglasses, regardless of how dark they are, can't protect the eyes from the effect of the sun, so specialized eclipse glasses made from safe solar filter materials will be needed. If skywatchers intend to watch the event with a telescope, special filters will be needed to make this a safe viewing experience.

Our how to observe the sun safely guide tells you everything you need to know about safe solar observations.

Following the 2024 total solar eclipse, skywatchers in the U.S. will next get the opportunity to see a total solar eclipse on March 30, 2033 . The totality of this eclipse, which will last 2 minutes 37 seconds, will be visible in Alaska. Following this, on Aug. 23, 2044 , a total solar eclipse will be visible from the U.S. states of Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota, as well as from much of Canada.

Under a year later, on Aug.12, 2045 , another total solar eclipse will sweep over the U.S., visible from California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, as well as from the Caribbean, and South America.  

Submit your photos! If you capture a photo of the April 8 total solar eclipse and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send photos, videos, comments, and your name, location and content usage permission release to [email protected] .

Update: Human Infection with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus in Texas

April 5, 2024, 2:50 PM EDT

Updates on respiratory illness and vaccine-preventable diseases.

What’s New?

• A person in Texas tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza  (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus (“H5N1 bird flu”). This is only the second case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States; the first was in a poultry worker in Colorado in 2022.
• This person in Texas worked with dairy cows presumably infected with H5N1 bird flu viruses.
• This is the first time this virus has been found in cows and would be the first instance of cow-to-human spread of bird flu.
• CDC has sequenced the influenza virus genome from the patient in Texas and compared this with other sequenced H5N1 viruses. The virus obtained from this person is nearly identical to what has been found in cows and birds in Texas. There are no changes associated with resistance to antiviral medications and the virus is closely related to two existing candidate vaccine viruses .
• There is no sign of person-to-person spread of this virus at this time.
• This is an emerging and rapidly evolving situation that CDC is following closely. At this time, CDC believes that the overall risk to the general public posed by this virus remains low.

Current Situation

On April 1, 2024 , Texas reported a human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus (H5N1 bird flu) after confirmation by CDC. This is the first time this virus has been found in a cow and the second human case of H5N1 bird flu reported in the United States. There was a previous case in 2022 in Colorado  in a poultry worker. This new case is associated with a multi-state veterinary outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in U.S. dairy cows . This case occurs amid ongoing outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu in U.S. poultry, sporadic infections in a growing number of animal species, and widespread circulation of this virus in wild birds globally.

The person in Texas with H5N1 bird flu who had exposure to presumably infected cows reported eye redness, or conjunctivitis, as their only symptom and is recovering. The patient was told to stay at home away from others and was treated with a flu antiviral drug. Human infections with H5N1 bird flu are rare, but they do happen, most often after unprotected exposure to infected birds when enough virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose, or mouth, or is inhaled, or when a person touches something that has virus on it and then touches their mouth, eyes, or nose. The case in Texas would be the first known instance of a person getting bird flu from a cow. It’s not clear at this time exactly how the person in Texas became infected. Bird flu illnesses in people have ranged from mild (e.g., eye infection, upper respiratory symptoms) to severe (e.g., pneumonia, multi-organ failure, death).

CDC does not believe these developments change the overall H5N1 bird flu human health risk for the U.S. general public, which CDC continues to believe is low. CDC has preliminary analysis of genetic sequences showing that these viruses remain primarily avian and are not well adapted to people. There were no changes that would make these viruses resistant to current FDA-approved and recommended flu antiviral medications . These viruses also are very closely related to two existing HPAI A(H5N1) candidate vaccine viruses that are already available to manufacturers, and which could be used to make vaccine if needed.

Viruses can undergo changes when they replicate after infection, and CDC scientists look for changes any time they study a virus. In this case, CDC scientists did identify a previously characterized change in one amino acid associated with human and other mammal infections. This finding is not uncommon or surprising and, importantly, is not associated with an increased ability of this virus to spread between people.

In addition to studying the virus, CDC analyzes whether people may be seeking more health care in areas where the virus might be spread. Although increases in health care use are unlikely in this situation, in an abundance of caution, CDC reviewed available public health surveillance data sources in the states with affected dairy farms and did not detect any evidence of increases in influenza A positive tests or influenza-related medical visits.

Recommendations

While CDC believes the current risk to the general public remains low, people with close or long unprotected exposures (not wearing respiratory or eye protection) to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection.

To reduce the risk of infection:

• People should avoid unprotected exposures to sick or dead animals, including wild birds, poultry, other domesticated birds, and other wild or domesticated animals (including cows).
• People should avoid unprotected exposures to animal poop, bedding (litter), raw milk, or materials that have been touched by, or close to, birds or other animals with suspected or confirmed H5N1 bird flu.
• People should not prepare or consume uncooked or undercooked food or related uncooked food products, such as unpasteurized (raw) milk, or raw cheeses, from animals with suspected or confirmed H5N1 bird flu virus infection.
• It is safe to drink commercial milk because products are pasteurized before entering the market. Pasteurization kills bacteria and viruses, like influenza viruses, in milk.
• It is safe to eat properly handled and cooked poultry in the United States. Properly handling and cooking poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165˚F kills bacteria and viruses, including bird flu viruses.
• Specific recommendations for farmers; poultry, backyard flock, and livestock owners; and worker protection are also available.

Exit Notification / Disclaimer Policy

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
• Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
• You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
• CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.

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Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian Has 'An Idea' How to Approach Upcoming Transfer Portal Window

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian is making sure he and the staff do their homework ahead of next week's new transfer portal window.

• Author: Zach Dimmitt

In this story:

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns' success of last season was a blessing and a curse for coach Steve Sarkisian and staff, as the bright lights allowed the team's top players to receive tons of attention from NFL scouts and depart for the draft as a result.

The Longhorns have had no choice but to reload through the portal, and reload they have. Texas has added receivers like five-star Alabama transfer Isaiah Bond and Houston transfer Matthew Golden along with UTSA edge Trey Moore and Clemson safety Andrew Mukuba, to name a few. Eight total transfer additions so far this offseason has given Texas the No. 7 portal class in the country, per 247Sports' rankings.

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Isaiah Bond during football spring practice.

Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman

The spring transfer window for FBS begins on Tuesday, April 16 and ends two weeks later on April 30, giving the coaching staff another chance to add depth. When speaking to the media on Tuesday, Sarkisian didn't reveal his plans but admitted he has "an idea" for how the Longhorns will approach the new portal window.

“I have an idea, internally,” Sarkisian said. “We’re gonna have some real discussions as a staff here in the next week or so, because I want to coach the guys that we got. I do think we’ve got a really talented team.

"Got great depth on this team, it’s incredible right now that we’re two-spotting everything and we’re four-deep at every position, which is great that we’re able to do that. Naturally, I don’t know if I’m necessarily going to the portal to say we’ve got to get something, but I’m sure as we’ll monitor there will be some decent players that go in, and then do they fit us."

During the run to the College Football Playoff this past season, Sarkisian put an emphasis on culture and leadership, which arguably played the biggest factor in Texas' success just two years removed from a 5-7 season. He admitted that it can be a challenge recruiting the portal due to the short time you have to getting to know the person, not just the player, but that's not stopping him from keeping the program's culture intact as priority No. 1.

"One of the challenges with the portal which we touched on a week ago, is how do you get to know the player, not just what’s on tape, but the person," Sarkisian said. "We try to do our best around here not to sacrifice character for talent, meaning yeah he’s a really good player, but maybe some of the off-the-field issues don’t match up with the player. We’ve got such a good culture right now and I think that’s part of the reason why we win. We just want to make sure that we do our homework on anybody that we bring into the program this late in the game.”

No one would be surprised if the Longhorns add a name or two from the portal during the upcoming window, but any incoming player wouldn't be integrated in time to be able to play in the Orange-White Spring Game on Saturday, April 20.

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Watch CBS News

How does the solar eclipse affect animals? Veterinarians share insights and pet safety tips

By Aliza Chasan

Updated on: April 8, 2024 / 4:54 PM EDT / CBS News

With around 180 million people living in or near the 2024 solar eclipse path of totality, many pet owners have been wondering how the eclipse may impact animal behaviors and how their pets might react. 

Veterinarians said they've been fielding questions from some concerned pet owners about the eclipse's impact on animals. Ultimately, there isn't a clear answer for pet owners because eclipses happen so infrequently. Researchers did plan to watch animal reactions during the April 8 eclipse to learn more about how it affects animals.

"There's not a lot of scientific research done on this topic of animals and eclipses mostly because they don't come often," said American Kennel Club Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Jerry Klein. "And a lot of it's just been anecdotal reports and just volunteering information."

How does a solar eclipse affect animals?

Though there isn't a lot of information out there, veterinarians and animal researchers do have some idea how the eclipse may impact dogs, cats and more. 

"Most animals will be overall unaffected by the eclipse, but pet owners may notice brief periods of confusion, and dogs and cats may exhibit fear and confusion," said Dr. Katie Krebs, a veterinarian and professor at University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine. 

Pets may hide, howl, pace or pant during the eclipse, Krebs said. As the sky darkens, some pets may start their nighttime routine early. 

The average indoor dog or cat is likely not going to be affected by the eclipse, said Dr. Rebecca Greenstein, veterinary expert with pet care company Rover. 

"So owners should take heart and take comfort in knowing that," Greenstein said.

Why do solar eclipses affect animals?

It's not so much the eclipse that affects pets, but the behavior of people, Klein said. 

"They'll take their cues from us," Klein said. "So if they're kept indoors and we don't try to force them into a situation that's peculiar, there should be minimal to none as far as reactions."

Many people will gather at eclipse parties and those large gatherings can impact pets if they're brought along, Klein said. The travel, noise and crowds can be stressful for animals. 

Some animals that depend more on the light-dark cycle, like birds, may be more affected because the sky will darken during the eclipse, Krebs said. 

"Things like fireworks and thunderstorms are probably a much more significant phenomenon than an eclipse that's lasting only a few minutes," Greenstein said.

Can animals look at the eclipse without going blind?

Animals generally know not to stare at the sun themselves — they've learned that doing so can temporarily blind them, leaving them vulnerable. 

"Dogs know that if something hurts them, they probably shouldn't do it," said Klein. "So left to their own devices, dogs are probably not going to stare at the sun."

Pets may look up if they see the people around them are preoccupied with looking up at the sky, vets said. 

"Dogs follow your cues, so if you're preoccupied with looking up, your dog is looking to your cues to figure out how to behave," Greenstein said. "So this may be a time to either not bring them along, or if you are, to reassure them with their favorite toy or treat and just keep them preoccupied with what's going on at ground level."

Pet owners do not need special eclipse glasses for their dog or cat, Krebs said. 

If you have a pair of eclipse glasses around, be careful not to leave them unattended with your pet, who may chew on or eat them, Klein said. Eclipse glasses that have scratches or punctures should not be used. 

Should you keep your pets inside or outside during the solar eclipse?

Veterinarians agree that it's likely best to keep pets inside during the eclipse, especially if they're stressed by crowds or events like storms or fireworks. 

"If possible, keep them indoors in a comfortable environment where they will feel more secure because the feeling of this is probably the most important thing," Klein said.

Owners planning to go to eclipse events should be respectful of their pet's boundaries. 

"Not all animals do well with large crowds or with you being distracted with other things, so leaving them at home or calling a trusted pet sitter are probably the best bet," Greenstein said.

At home, owners can try distracting a pet with a favorite toy, vets said. Pets who are often anxious may benefit from anti-anxiety medication during the eclipse, but owners should check with their veterinarian for specifics before giving their dog or cat any medication, Krebs said. 

"If you plan to stay home during the eclipse, your pet may seek out extra attention or comfort, so providing them with extra comfort and reassurance may help," Krebs said.

More pet safety tips to keep in mind

If you've decided to take your dog to an eclipse event, it's important to make sure they're microchipped with current info in case they get stressed and run away, Klein said. While there, make sure they're well controlled on a leash.

"By and large, we're not thinking this represents any major danger, but definitely pet owners should use their judgment," Greenstein said.

Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.

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