The latest public education news from The Texas Tribune.
The four-year graduation rates at Texas' public universities are staggeringly low. State officials acknowledge the numbers are dismal and are working to improve them. But not all higher ed leaders buy into the notion that such metrics matter. Full Story
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Last March, 13,000 protesters met in Austin to protest cuts to public education in what organizers called one of the biggest Capitol rallies in state history. This month, as Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, the same group of activists, Save Texas Schools, plans to do it again. Full Story
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As more than 500 school districts sue the state over how it funds its public schools, Texas lawmakers announced today they would form an interim committee to study school finance. Full Story
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The latest school finance lawsuit following the state's $5.4 billion cut to public schools suggests that schools need more competition. Full Story
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A group of parents in Texas filed the fifth school finance lawsuit in Austin today, focusing not on whether the state adequately pays for schools but rather if the way it distributes money is efficient and equitable. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry told us on Tuesday that he may run for re-election. Voters aren't sold, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
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Aaronson interactively charts the legal wrangling between Texas and the feds, Aguilar on what Obama's budget means for the border, Galbraith on congressional ambivalence about a wind tax credit, Grissom on cuts to crime victims services, Hamilton on UT-Austin's plan to boost graduation rates, Ramsey on our woefully low voter turnout, Ramshaw on a new Super PAC targeting incumbents of both parties, Root on conservative opposition to the Keystone pipeline and M. Smith on cash-starved school districts in the advertising game: The best of our best content from February 13-17, 2012. Full Story
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Education Commissioner Robert Scott said today that he will postpone for a year a controversial requirement that new exams count for 15 percent of students' final grades. Full Story
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Texas school districts are getting into the advertising game as they look for ways to make ends meet after major state budget cuts. But some researchers question whether schools fully grasp the consequences of creeping commercialism. Full Story
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With the state set to debut its new STAAR tests this spring, concerns about how the tests will impact students' final grades have begun to mount. And as Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, parents aren't the only ones worrying. Full Story
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House Public Education Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, is planning to send a letter to the state education czar asking the Texas Education Agency to defer implementation of STAAR's 15 percent rule. Full Story
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State Sen. Florence Shapiro has sent a letter to the Texas Education Agency saying that she believes it has the power to delay a requirement that new exams count toward 15 percent of students' final grades. Full Story
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Aguilar on an environmental battle in South Texas, Galbraith on the impact of the drought, Grissom on the latest in the Michael Morton case, Hamilton and Theobald on plans for greater scrutiny of faculty performance, Murphy on Rick Perry's campaign donors and expenditures, Ramsey on where we stand on redistricting, Ramshaw on the intense interest in stem cell rules, Root on a congressman's controversial pipeline holdings, M. Smith on the backlash against student testing and Tan on the fight for a new medical school in Austin: The best of our best content from February 6-10, 2012. Full Story
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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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With the more-rigorous STAAR testing system set to debut this year, a backlash appears to building against standardized testing in the state. And some legislators are mulling how to postpone some of the tests’ consequences for students. Full Story
A teachers group has urged Gov. Rick Perry to call a special session to address education funding. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, there's still plenty of disagreement on what fixing the school funding system would actually mean. Full Story
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Texas Education Agency commissioner Robert Scott touched off political controversy this week when he told a gathering of 4,000 school officials in Austin that standardized testing had gone too far in Texas. Full Story
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Morgan Smith explains how some parents are choosing not to let their children take the new and rigorous STAAR tests. And Kate Galbraith tells us how state officials may use money from BP for coastal restoration. Full Story
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Some high-profile members of the education community aren't pleased with Texas Education Agency chief Robert Scott's speech on Tuesday criticizing the role of testing in schools. Full Story
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The Dallas-based breast cancer prevention group Susan G. Komen for the Cure has halted its financial support of Planned Parenthood, yet another blow to the family planning organization that provides abortions in some of its clinics. Full Story
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