/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/Morgan.jpg)
Morgan Smith was a reporter at the Tribune from 2009 to 2018, covering politics, public education and inequality. In 2013, she received a National Education Writers Association award for “Death of a District,” a series on school closures. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Wellesley College, she moved to Austin in 2008 to enter law school at the University of Texas. A San Antonio native, her work has also appeared in Slate, where she spent a year as an editorial intern in Washington D.C.
A new state requirement that students must retake standardized tests if they do not achieve a minimum score has landed hundreds of thousands in summer school, carrying a hefty price tag for school districts. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/STARR-Test.jpg)
Attorneys for the state of Texas and death row inmate Hank Skinner have filed a joint motion with the Court of Criminal Appeals to send his case back to district court so he can obtain DNA testing. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/20100120-IMG_2761-2.jpg)
There's something new in the Texas Republican Party platform: a call for a national guest-worker program. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA9237.jpg)
Rick Santorum avoided aggravating an already divided group of fellow Republicans on Friday night and instead regaled the crowd with tales of campaign misadventures and hopes for the party's future. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e6b4996d0dec53de8de18cc1611a8dee/BD%20INC%20Santorum%20280%202012)
After some at the GOP state convention booed Thursday at Gov. Rick Perry's mention of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, he got a mostly positive reception Friday during his own speech. That wasn't the case for Mitt Romney, whose name drew jeers from the audience during a speech from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bf877c3e4cfddc3f64a6e79ee6ab55f0/BD%20INC%20Dew%20554%202012)
House Speaker Joe Straus, booed at the Republican state convention two years ago, is bracing for another chilly reception from the GOP faithful on Friday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cdd36617e340c4258334e041899dc4ed/BD%20INC%20Oust%20Sticker%201743%202012)
Gov. Rick Perry, speaking at the state’s Republican convention on Thursday, fueled speculation that he’ll run for re-election, saying he was “not riding into the sunset” but “mounting up for the next operation.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/722645db8f47a80e86a0f92cf274c35e/BD%20INC%20Perry%20Listens%202012)
The Republican Party of Texas gathers in Fort Worth on Thursday to start a three-day convention that will feature candidates, national conservative figures and party officials. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasRepublicanConvention.jpg)
Tuesday night was a wash for candidates hoping to capitalize on a backlash against the 2011 Legislature's deep budget cuts to public schools. Some won and some lost, and there wasn't a definite guiding narrative as to why. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Yearbook.jpg)
If the 2012 primaries are any guide, the plaintiffs’ bar is becoming less shy about investing in the Republican side of the ballot — and Republican candidates are not being bashful about accepting the money. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TLR-TTLA-tug2.jpg)