Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott received a standing ovation today after he told a gathering of public school educators that the state testing system has become a "perversion of its original intent." Full Story
At our Hot Seat conversation at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg on 1/24, state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and state Reps. Veronica Gonzales, D-McAllen, and Aaron Peña, R-Edinburg, discussed cuts to public education, redistricting and other by-products of the 82nd Legislative Session. Full Story
Tan and Dehn talk to some of Gov. Rick Perry's allies about his return to Texas, Aaronson maps (interactively!) the insured and the uninsured among us, E. Smith's TribLive interview with state Rep. David Simpson on Perry's race and TSA pat-downs, M. Smith on a Texas school so broke it's shutting down sports, Whitney on a split in the legal community over divorce forms, KUT's Philpott on abuse in state hospitals, Ramshaw reports on the governor's decision not to repay taxpayers for protection during his presidential campaign and Aguilar on the state's attempts to put its voter ID law in force: The best of our best content from January 23-27, 2012. Full Story
The insiders think Ron Paul's biggest obstacle is Ron Paul, are pessimistic about Texas Democrats, and predict Democratic primaries focused on education and Republican primaries focused on spending and taxes. Full Story
Emily Ramshaw explains how family planning clinics are complying with the state's new abortion sonogram law. Morgan Smith shows us a school district that is canceling its sports program. Full Story
In a rare move in a state where the football field is hallowed turf, Premont ISD has suspended all athletics — including football — to improve its struggling finances. But the decision has brought little backlash from the community in South Texas, perhaps a measure of how dire the school's circumstances have become. Full Story
In a state where the football field is hallowed turf, Premont ISD has suspended all athletics — including football — to improve its struggling finances. Full Story
In a daring and rare move in a state where the football field is hallowed turf, a superindent has suspended all athletics to help his South Texas district improve its struggling finances. Full Story
Texas lawmakers on Monday reviewed how schools are planning to implement a new standardized testing system, and as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, they came armed with plenty of questions. Full Story
Tan and Root on the Texas presidential candidates returning to the state where Rick Perry started his campaign, Philpott on Perry's swipes at Mitt Romney, Ramshaw on Griffin Perry's tweets, M. Smith on the next round of fights over student testing, E. Smith's TribLive interview with Michael Quinn Sullivan, yours truly on the sliding primary election calendar, Hamilton on higher-education efforts to bolster the Texas work force, Grissom's interview with John Raley, Galbraith on the greenhouse gas wars and Aguilar on making it easier for immigrants to return to the U.S.: The best of our best content from January 9 to 13, 2012. Full Story
Full video of our 1/12 TribLive conversation with the conservative activist, who heads the watchdog groups Empower Texans and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. Full Story
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
Cultural institutions that once counted on revenue from student field trips are feeling the hit of the state's multibillion-dollar education cuts. Full Story
At our Hot Seat conversation at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston on 12/14, state Reps. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, and Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, discussed cuts to public and higher education and other byproducts of the 82nd Session. Full Story
Texans will close out 2011 with more questions than answers, from the outcomes of redistricting and Gov. Rick Perry's presidential bid to the effects of lawmakers' multibillion-dollar budget cuts. Here’s hoping 2012 brings some resolution. Full Story
As it has since the Trib's launch in 2009, data continued to reign supreme on the site in 2011. Today, we take a look at the 10 most-visited data apps since Jan. 1. Full Story
Aaronson on Rick Perry's Texas Enterprise Fund, Aguliar on the DOJ's Joe Arpaio problem, Galbraith on the uncertainty about Texas' electric grid, Grissom and Schwartz of The New York Times on the latest in the Michael Morton case, Hamilton on the first leg of Perry's Iowa bus tour, Murphy and McLain unveil our new campaign finance database, Ramsey et al. go live with the first round of our 2012 election brackets, Root on a GOP rival's queries about Perry's pension play, M. Smith contrasts the various school finance lawsuits and Tan, Dehn and Murphy on a shortage of mental health professionals: The best of our best content from December 19-23, 2011. Full Story
One question has dominated education conversations in Texas since even before the 2011 legislative session and budget slashing began: How will public schools be affected? The answers are many and varied. Full Story