/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.
As the popularity of online learning grows, public schools are grappling with how to most effectively integrate it into their classrooms — and some in the education community worry about the increasing influence of for-profit companies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-VirtualSchool-011.jpg)
The outspoken head of the state's fourth-largest school district— newly crowned as Superintendent of the Year — on school finance lawsuits, the impact of cuts to public education funding and the upcoming transition to end-of-course exams. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/John-Folks.jpg)
Rick Perry didn’t blow it or commit any serious gaffes, but in his latest debate the Texas governor found himself in a position that seemed unimaginable even a few weeks ago: largely out of the spotlight and struggling for airtime. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1d3790e829ea25d37d05e9033e5adfb6/BD%20INC%20Perry%20Debate%20Table%202011)
Everyone agrees: there's a lot at stake tonight for Gov. Rick Perry. The Bloomberg/Washington Post debate may be his last chance to reverse his dragging momentum after past performances left the impression he lacked the policy chops to take on President Barack Obama. We're liveblogging the action here. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cf0ac4b6dc7a8f13ff73392307d4f29d/BD%20INC%20Perry%20Debate%20Stage%202011)
Just hours before a crucial debate for Gov. Rick Perry, his chief GOP rival picked up a key endorsement from popular New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/IMG_1078.JPG)
Gov. Rick Perry fumbled his way through the last three televised debates, and his campaign has been in a downward spiral ever since. Tonight, in New Hampshire, he gets another chance. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Debateorama_Perry.jpg)
The lawsuits over public education funding that are currently taking shape will be the latest in a long history of court intervention in Texas' school finance system. But how much can the judiciary do to fix it? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/ScaleMoneySchool_2.jpg)
Within the education community, there have been rumors about a possible school finance lawsuit since well before the legislative session got under way. Now, with $4 billion less in public funding and a daunting new student assessment program on the horizon, those rumors have become a reality. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/college_aid3.jpg)
A new state law decentralizing the selection and purchase of instructional materials for Texas students has sparked debate about how it will affect the politically charged State Board of Education's power to control what’s taught in Texas classrooms. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/BooksDigitalMoney2.jpg)
Texas' latest effort to address childhood obesity — a new law allowing a deeper study of student fitness data — could be blunted by the exemption lawmakers gave school districts from having to collect and report the data on a significant number of students. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CafeteriaKid.jpg)