Aycock Unveils Website to Talk School Accountability
State Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, is launching a website to try to kickstart discussion on what will surely be a hot topic in the next legislative session: school accountability. Full Story
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![Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, with Speaker Joe Straus R-San Antonio on May 20th, 2011]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Who's Next to Take On Role of TEA Leader?
Education Commissioner Robert Scott's successor will have his or her hands full. The job requires a delicate balancing act in regard to state officials and school administrators. So who could get Gov. Rick Perry's nod for the post? Full Story
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![Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott answers questions at TASA midwinter conference in Austin, Texas February 1st, 2011]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aguilar on the House District 77 primary, Batheja on the HD-101 and SD-9 primaries, Galbraith on the GOP candidates for two Railroad Commission slots, Grissom on the latest in the Kerry Max Cook case, Hamilton on Texas A&M's new accountability website, Murphy and M. Smith on how much superintendents make, Ramsey interviews a would-be Democratic Party chair, Root on that nice Ted Nugent, M. Smith on the resignation of the state's education commissioner and Tan on the continuing court fight over Planned Parenthood: The best of our best content from April 30 to May 4, 2012. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 130
On this week's podcast, Ross, Emily, Morgan and Ben weigh the recent resignation of Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and the back-and-forth court rulings on Planned Parenthood and the Women's Health Program. Full Story
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Interactive: How Much Do Superintendents Make?
During the 2011 legislative session, we compiled a salary database of all the state’s highest-paid school administrators: superintendents. After a year and a $5.4 billion reduction in state funding to public education, we are doing it again. Full Story
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Texas Schools Chief Stepping Down
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott is leaving the post Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to in 2007. Full Story
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![Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott speaks at the TASA midwinter conference in Austin, Texas February 1st, 2011]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
TribLive: Eissler and Hochberg on TAKS and STAAR
At this morning's TribLive conversation, House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and Vice Chairman Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, talked about the emphasis on testing in Texas schools. Full Story
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Districts Take Advantage of STAAR Rule Change
School districts are taking advantage of the Texas Education Agency's decision to waive the requirement that STAAR exams count for 15 percent of students' grades for the 2011-12 school year. Full Story
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Interactive: 25,000 Fewer Public School Employees
Public schools in Texas employ about 25,000 less employees than they did at this time last year. Use this interactive to see what happened in your school district. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 118
On this week's TribCast, Ben, Ross, Emily and Morgan discuss redistricting, public school accountability testing and the controversy involving Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Schools Find Many Ways to Adapt Grades to Test
This year, for the first time, students' scores on standardized tests will count 15 percent toward their final grades. It sounds straightforward, but how some districts are applying the so-called 15 percent rule threatens to spark the next political battle over a test that has seen plenty of them. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Schools Face Tough New Rules on Financial Hardship
The TEA has released new guidelines that set tough thresholds for school districts hoping to take advantage of special legal exemptions passed by the Legislature and intended to help schools cope with significant budget cuts. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Little Opposition to Measure That Would Increase School Funding
Proposition 6 on the Texas constitutional ballot would allow the land commissioner to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to public education. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports that the measure has seen little opposition. Full Story
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School Dropouts, Politicians and the Funny Arithmetic of State Budgets
Every time a student drops out of public school, taxpayers save money. That’s one fewer student, at an annual savings of more than $11,000 per year from state and local sources. Full Story
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Online Classes Booming, But With Red Flags
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
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![Eagle Scout and high school graduate Will Clarkston, 20, logged in to The Bridge School from his bedroom in Houston on Tuesday, October 4, 2011. He is taking online classes now and planning to attend community college in the spring.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Once Again, Texas Faces Lawsuits Over How It Funds Its Schools
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
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Schools, Textbook Publishers Adjust to Power Shift
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
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Liveblog: Public and Higher Education at The Texas Tribune Festival
We'll be liveblogging throughout the weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival's public and higher education track — which includes panels on the role research should play at state universities and how to pay for public education. Full Story
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Texas Still Undecided on No Child Left Behind Waiver
Despite more details from the Obama administration today about how it would exempt states from complying with the law's signature requirements, the Texas Education Agency has yet to decide whether it will apply for a waiver on federal accountability requirements under the 2001 act. Full Story
![Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott speaks at the TASA midwinter conference in Austin, Texas February 1st, 2011]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
More Texas Schools Teach Safe Sex With Abstinence
Abstinence still rules on a state policy level, but from Midland to Spring Branch, a quiet message is spreading through Texas schools: It's time to start teaching students about contraception. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Michael Stravato / Geoffrey McAllister