In private school voucher push, Gov. Abbott breaks through by playing hardball
Anti-voucher Republicans said they voted for the bill so they could fight to improve it, and also to fend off political retribution. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at ‘Parent Empowerment Night’ at San Antonio Christian School, in San Antonio, Texas, on Feb. 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune -
See how Texas House members voted on school vouchers
The House approved historic legislation that would implement school vouchers in Texas. Here’s how each representative voted. Full Story
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![Texas House of Representatives Members vote on an amendment for Senate Bill 2 in the House Chamber in Austin on April 16, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
In historic first, Texas House approves private school voucher program
The bill would let families use taxpayer dollars for their children’s private schooling. Lawmakers also signed off on a sweeping $7.7 billion package to boost public school funding. Full Story
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![State Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, answers questions regarding an amendment for Senate Bill 2 in the House Chamber in Austin on April 16, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill increasing public school funding and teacher pay gets final House approval
The lower chamber overwhelmingly voted in favor of House Bill 2, a sweeping $8 billion piece of legislation that would also limit schools’ reliance on teachers without formal classroom training. Full Story
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![State Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, shakes hands with Rep. Brad Buckley R-Salado, House Education chair, after the vote on school finance on April 16, 2025. The bill passed, 144-4.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House OKs bill that gives schools more latitude to discipline students
A last-minute amendment would require students to go to alternative education settings if they attack a teacher or make terroristic threats. Full Story
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![Students fill the hallway between classes at United South High School in Laredo on Oct. 23, 2018.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Voucher vote updates: Texas House approves voucher proposal
The Texas House also approved more money for schools in a bipartisan vote. Full Story
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![State Rep. Brad Buckley answers questions from Democrats regarding an amendment for Senate Bill 2 in the House Chamber in Austin on April 16, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Can Texas retain and train more teachers?
In this week’s episode of the TribCast, Matthew and Eleanor ask the question: Are Texas teachers OK? Full Story
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![Substitute teacher Karie Houchin reads to a second grade classroom at Wanke Elementary School in north San Antonio on March 9, 2012.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats could hold GOP priorities hostage to force statewide school vouchers vote
More than 50 House Democrats have signed on to a plan to spike all constitutional amendments unless the House allows voters to decide whether school vouchers will be legalized. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Bucy III, D-Austin, is surrounded by Democrats on the Texas House floor while he advocates for Medicaid expansion during the budget debate in the Texas House on April 10, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republican lawmakers unwilling to change abortion laws to address doomed pregnancies
For the first time since Texas outlawed nearly all abortions, lawmakers are clarifying the “life of mother” exception. But they don’t plan to address cases where the fetus won’t survive. Full Story
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![Taylor Edwards poses for a portrait in the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2025. In 2023 (?), Edwards had to travel out of the state to receive an abortion after learning the child she was carrying would not survive the pregnancy.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Explore Texas public schools’ college readiness, demographics and teacher salaries
Use our database to learn about Texas public school districts and campuses, including hundreds of charter schools and alternative campuses. Data is the most recent available. Full Story
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![School supplies are individually bagged in each cubbie in a classroom at Ott Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Trump wants to dismantle the Education Department. That could hurt students with disabilities in Texas.
In a state with a checkered history with federal special education law, advocates say Texas students will see an erosion of their disability rights protections. Full Story
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![Odessa High School students walk between classes on Sept. 13, 2023, in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Conservatives on the Cy-Fair school board escalate fight over textbooks
The decision to strip chapters from books that had already won the approval of the state’s Republican-controlled board of education represents an escalation in how local school boards run by ideological conservatives influence what children learn. Full Story
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![People are seen from behind as the sit in auditorium chairs and hold up signs, including one that says “Let trans kids grow up.” They are facing a row of eight people at a high table, six of whom are raising a hand.]()
Credit: Danielle Villasana for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune -
Private school voucher bill clears first test in Texas House
The House Public Education Committee voted to advance a pair of priority bills to create education savings accounts and to raise how much state money public school districts receive. Full Story
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![The Texas House of Representatives Public Education Committee holds a hearing in Austin on March 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton wants Dallas school officials under oath on transgender athlete policy
Paxton’s office launched an investigation into the district’s policy after an administrator was caught on tape discussing a possible loophole in the state’s ban. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addresses the crowd during a rally at the Tarrant County Republican Party Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Texas officials’ claim that school funding is at an all-time high ignores inflation and temporary federal money
A Tribune analysis also found the state’s share of the funds that schools receive per student significantly decreased in the last decade until recently. Full Story
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Jewish Texans disagree on how to combat antisemitism in schools during hearing on Senate bill
Lawmakers propose addressing antisemitism by requiring schools to use a set definition. Critics say the measure will stifle speech. Full Story
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![The Senate Committee on Education K-16 holds a hearing for SB2 to establish an education savings account program on Jan. 28, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ DEI bans: What to know about the term and the debate
Diversity, equity and inclusion has become highly politicized — and there’s no standard definition for what it is. Full Story
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![The Capitol dome is seen from the north side of the complex in Austin on March 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ DEI debate centers on a disagreement about whether programs perpetuate or prevent discrimination
Supporters say diversity initiatives close educational and income gaps born from a history of prejudice. Republican officials say they prioritize identity over merit. Full Story
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![Illustrated posters reading “We Belong Here” litter the Capitol’s rotunda floor during Texas Students for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s protest of HB1 Rider No. 186, which would defund DEI initiatives at public universities, on Mar. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Abbott praises Trump’s efforts to eliminate Education Department at White House
Gov. Greg Abbott dismissed concerns that federal funding and civil rights could be jeopardized by the reduction of the department. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott applauds as he attends the signing of an executive order to shut down the Department of Education by President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2025.]()
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Ted Cruz funds ads supporting pro-voucher lawmakers
The ads praise 14 Texas Republicans, including House Speaker Dustin Burrows, for their support of education savings accounts. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks to residents at his bus tour rally in Huntsville on Oct. 8, 2024, finishing his six-city tour campaign for reelection against U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas.]()
Credit: Hope Capwell for The Texas Tribune