Texas' school finance system is unpopular and complex. Here's how it works.
Average Texans and lawmakers alike are going back to the basics on school finance, as the state Legislature prepares to tackle a longstanding challenge. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/92fb6fa53510c8963f0919d780552707/CCR_9833_CR_TT.jpg)
-
![Tatum Roberts (left) and Olivia Mah work on their toothpick cubes in Melanie Martin's kindergarten class at Johnston-McQueen Elementary.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate proposes $3.7 billion for mandated teacher raises
Senate leaders say they will require districts to use the money to give $5,000 raises to each teacher. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/13da8efdc57972b208d7efcce3150204/01_Dan_Patrick_Oath_Ceremony_MG.jpg)
![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick address the crowd at the Oath of Office Ceremony at the capitol grounds. Jan. 15, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Texas House proposes massive increase for public school funding
The proposed budget would increase state funds for education by about 17 percent but cut funding for health and human services by about 3 percent. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1cf732e870c7badfcc956653d09227f9/Dennis_Bonnen_Speaker_House_1.jpg)
![House Speaker Dennis Bonnen presiding over his first votes as speaker of the house. Jan. 9, 2019. Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Point of Order: How Dan Huberty wants to fix school finance
In our new podcast, Point of Order, Evan Smith asks Dan Huberty, chairman of the House Public Education Committee, what it will take — and what it will cost — for state lawmakers to solve the state's most intractable problem. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/70133086bcd92b00b77f48e2b81dcf73/TT-Point-of-order-wES-launch.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
With strategic timing and some extra money, UT-Austin hopes it can encourage more low-income students to enroll
In the last six years, the number of needy students at UT-Austin — as measured by those who receive the federal Pell Grant — has decreased from 28 percent to 24 percent. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8213bf6c5d5ad944a53a311c2a74a33d/Tiffany_Pham_01.jpg)
![Tiffany Pham, a freshman nursing student at The University of Texas, was one of about 30 students who received an Impact Scholarship to UT. The scholarship recognizes students who have made an impact in their communities and covers the cost of tuition for four years at UT Austin.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding -
Gov. Greg Abbott advocates for state takeover of Houston ISD’s school board in scathing tweet
Abbott criticized the district's leadership as a "disaster." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c25bb7cfc6236650e0216076d3639c37/Abbott_Resurgent_2_BD_TT.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at the Resurgent Gathering of conservative party activists in Austin on August 3, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Watch Texas Tribune reporters discuss their project on school segregation
Watch as the Tribune's Alexa Ura and Aliyya Swaby discuss their reporting for the "Dis-Integration" series that examines the challenges school communities have faced in integrating their schools. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/19693b1b5321ea1ebc30a8f6e14af6c8/TT-dis-integration_share-art.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Texas has failed to close educational gaps for kids of color. In Edgewood ISD, the fallout has lasted generations.
Edgewood ISD has faced consistent problems in preparing its students for college and the workforce. The district's struggles shine a light on Texas’ long record of neglecting schools that educate mostly students of color. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7c74168d34e94e1056587376e4ac6f5e/School_Segregation_Carlos_08_LS_TT.jpg)
![Carlos Lopez is a freshman at The University of Texas studying Biochemistry, while also holding down a part time job at HEB. He graduated high school from John F. Kennedy, a small school on the west side of San Antonio and feels unprepared for what he has experienced at UT. He studies at the Student Academic Center on campus, December 7, 2018. Although he feels his public education underprepared him for UT and an advisor suggested changing his major, he does not want to give up.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Richardson ISD's student demographics have significantly changed. The makeup of its school board hasn't.
Only one person of color has ever served on the Richardson ISD board. Now, he's suing the district over its method of electing school board members, alleging it denies people of color a fair say in who represents them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4e75fa2c143fca0a5afacd0042e5886a/Karen_Hill_01_TT.jpg)
![Karen Hill (sp?) in her home in the Hamilton Park subdivision of Dallas. Her father, A. Maceo Johnson was a school teacher and had other prominent career rolls in education and served on the Dallas Civil Service Commission.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
San Antonio ISD is innovating to integrate its schools. Is it leaving some behind in the process?
To stem the exodus of students to private and charter schools, San Antonio ISD is redesigning dozens of schools that now offer popular educational programs. Families and educators at those schools are thrilled, but people at other schools feel left out. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0891c8cd3b96770174eb7f08ef0b6392/Lamar_Elem_1st_day_03_LS_TT.jpg)
![Brian Sparks is the principal at Lamar Elementary School in San Antonio. He helps out with cafeteria duties on the first day of school.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Here's our talk with NPR's 1A on Longview ISD and our school segregation series
Texas Tribune reporters Alexa Ura and Aliyya Swaby talked to 1A about the first installment of their "Dis-Integration" project, which focuses on Longview ISD and its efforts to topple barriers for students of color. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/78a612ab6f6dca823fafe89a10f5f0f5/CCR_7978_CR_TT.jpg)
![Longview beats rival Lufkin 35-28 for the season opener at Longview High School, August 31, 2018. Earlier this year the 1970 federal segregation order was lifted for Longview ISD.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
It took this Texas school district 48 years to desegregate. Now, some fear a return to the past.
Though students of color in Longview ISD still don’t have the same educational opportunities as white students, a federal judge dismissed a longstanding desegregation court order. Will the district succeed without it? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/86a2d26867cd085becc5843cb3a10c17/fb179_CR_TT.jpg)
![Longview beats rival Lufkin 35-28 for the season opener at Longview High School, August 31, 2018. Earlier this year the 1970 federal segregation order was lifted for Longview ISD.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas education board moves to reinsert Hillary Clinton, Helen Keller into curriculum
The day after backing the motions on Clinton and Keller, the State Board of Education voted to keep Moses in high school U.S. history standards. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d747fb6cda23fa029a9220b4de717752/Hillary_Clinton_and_Helen_Keller_TT.jpg)
![Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and author and political activist Helen Keller (1880-1968).]()
Credit: REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein: Clinton/Public domain: Keller -
Texas education board set to approve curriculum some say is historically inaccurate
After a politically charged September meeting, the State Board of Education meets this week to approve "streamlined" social studies curriculum standards. Teachers' responses are mixed. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7e5fa840e3310a8df940aa49e48c6f7c/Hilda_Mondragon_TEKS_RZ_TT.jpg)
![Hilda Mondragon teaches U.S. History to a class of juniors at United South High School in Laredo.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
5th Circuit upholds feds' $33 million penalty for Texas decrease in special education funding
The three-judge panel effectively upheld the U.S. Department of Education's decision to withhold $33 million from Texas in a future special education grant, calling the state's argument "unpersuasive." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a5cd043ecc827ab288a8e6fb75b108c5/Fifth_Circuit_Kyle_Hawkins_1_CG.jpg)
![Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins leaves the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018.]()
Credit: Cheryl Gerber for The Texas Tribune -
A Texas Board of Education seat hasn’t flipped since 2010. Will that change in 2018?
While most education board races are decided in the primaries, the combination of a blue wave and a big chunk of fundraising could upset a historically Republican district in North Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/32af3ee0706543490e103a1ad339af4b/pam_little_suzanne_smith_SBOE.jpg)
![Republican Pam Little is facing Democrat Suzanne Smith for the open State Board of Education District 12 seat.]()
Credit: Facebook campaign pages -
Analysis: Property taxes rise, state education spending falls. That's the design.
Early discussions about the next state budget include an old and politically hazardous debate: Property values are rising, meaning the local share of education spending will rise while the state share drops. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/01/23/_TX347MorathTT.jpg)
![Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath testifies before the Texas Commission on Public School Finance about education outcomes on Jan. 23, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
How Texas educators train before arming themselves at school
The school marshal program allows certain school staffers to carry a firearm and neutralize active shooters on campus. Here's how participants train. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e43826b6350b6bbe7d1730553292aaf6/Marshal_Program_Training_1_RZ_TT.jpg)
![An educator partakes in a simulated shooting as part of a training for school marshals. School marshals are school staff trained and armed to take out a threat to their campus.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate school safety committee recommends focusing on mental health, avoids gun control
The Senate Select Committee on Violence in Schools and School Safety also wants to explore new funding to help arm certain school employees. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c2a3c4dbc246f7ca877f511d1bee9f13/Hancock_Lucio_Whitmire_RZ_TT.jpg)
![Left to right: State Sens. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownville, and John Whitmire, D-Houston, at the second day of hearings held by the Senate Select Committee on Violence in Schools and School Security on June 12, 2018.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
West Texas A&M president finds home in Panhandle after controversial past
Walter Wendler, president of West Texas A&M University, has expanded community outreach and doctoral programs for rural areas, but his past has its share of contentious moments. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/26d1946f0942f0e1437305b6b732a5b8/Walter_Wendler_TT.jpg)
![West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler.]()
Credit: Courtesy WTAMU/Background: J. Nguyen—commonswiki