Messianic Jewish leader charged with sexual assault gives opening prayer at Keller school board meeting
The board made news earlier this year for banning a graphic novel portrayal of Anne Frank’s diary. Full Story
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![Mark Aaron Griffin, a Messianic "rabbi" awaiting trial on four counts of sexual assault, leads the opening prayer at Keller Independent School District's board meeting, Dec. 12, 2022.]()
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With billions for broadband on the line, Texas asks federal government for more time to improve access maps
Local officials, echoing Glenn Hegar, say the current maps are flawed and the process to lodge complaints is cumbersome. Full Story
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![A splice can that contains 432 fiber cables in Louisville, Kentucky on April 19, 2021.]()
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A Texas program that backs school districts’ bond debt is about to reach its limit — and it could mean raising taxes
Under the state’s Permanent School Fund’s Bond Guarantee Program, schools get the best interest rate on bonds. That soon may be over if the federal government doesn’t act. Full Story
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![Desks are spaced out in a classroom at Ott Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 in San Antonio.]()
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Jewish Texans see surge in antisemitism as a precursor to fascism
Extremism experts and historians sound alarms as politicians, media personalities and celebrities amplify antisemitic conspiracies that have historically led to the killing of Jews. Full Story
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![Outside of the sanctuary at Congregation Beth Israel in Austin on Nov. 1, 2021. Late the night before, an unknown individual set a fire at the front doors of the synagogue. Franklin Barrett Sechriest, then a student at Texas State University in San Marcos, was charged with the crime.]()
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Some Republicans are optimistic about enacting school choice in next year’s session — but it might not be so easy
Advocates say discontent with public schools’ pandemic rules and teachings on race and gender identity have helped raise support for school choice to an all-time high. Full Story
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![A ninth-grade student returns a classroom calculator to its pouch after a pre-advanced placement algebra class at Bowie High School in Austin, on April 2013.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
ACLU calls for civil rights investigations into two North Texas school districts over anti-transgender policies
Frisco ISD’s new bathroom policy and Keller ISD’s ban on books that reference gender fluidity violate federal rules prohibiting sex-based discrimination, the ACLU said. Full Story
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![A Keller ISD school board meeting in Keller, TX on April 25, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
More Texans turn to home schooling after the pandemic showed them what learning outside of schools could be like
Some new home-schoolers disagree with how race and sex are taught at schools. Others cite safety concerns after the Uvalde shooting and poor academic outcomes. Full Story
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![Teacher and parent Jamie Johnston helps secondary level students complete a worksheet in the College & Career Readiness class she teaches at REACH Homeschool Co-op in Clear Lake, TX.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
“I’ll still be sharing Lexi’s story”: Mother of Uvalde victim vows to remain politically engaged
Some parents and family of the students killed at Robb Elementary in May campaigned for Democrats. They were hoping for stricter gun control laws in Texas. Full Story
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![Residents watch Uvalde Leader-News reporters update results from local races on a white board in Uvalde on Election Day Nov. 8, 2022.]()
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UT System approves commitment to free speech, even if most students find that speech “offensive” or “immoral”
The Board of Regents adopted the Chicago Statement, a free speech policy created by the University of Chicago in 2014. More than 90 institutions have adopted the statement. Full Story
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![Protesters gather in front of the UT Tower to protest President Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. Seth Uzman leds the protesters in a "not my president" chant.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Despite GOP gains across the state, voters in the Austin-area suburb of Round Rock rejected conservative school board candidates
Slates of conservative candidates endorsed by the Republican Party of Texas failed to flip school boards in several suburban races across Texas, including in Round Rock and Wylie. Full Story
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![A visitor attending a Keller ISD school board meeting wears a shirt reading, “Please Don’t Politics, Porn, Prey” during a Keller ISD school board meeting in Keller on April 25, 2022. Some concerned parents and community members come with shirts and signs aligned with their beliefs as school board meetings become political battlegrounds.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
High schoolers’ overdose deaths leave a Central Texas town grappling with the opioid crisis
The deaths at Hays Consolidated Independent School District have sparked heartbreak, anger and calls for action. Full Story
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![At Lehman High School in Kyle, Texas, a poster warns about the dangers of fentanyl. Four students in the Hays Consolidated Independent School District, south of Austin, died from fentanyl overdoses in July and August.]()
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Texas Republicans against “critical race theory” win seats on the State Board of Education, strengthening its GOP majority
The board is responsible for dictating what Texas’ 5.5 million students are required to learn in the state’s public schools. Full Story
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![Linder Elementary School second grade students participate in Rosa Ramirez's class. They are studying the life of Martin Luther King Jr., and the significance of the upcoming holiday.]()
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State Sen. Dawn Buckingham wins bid to manage the Alamo, disaster relief funds and more as Texas’ next land commissioner
The land commissioner manages public land, enforces mineral rights leases, controls the Texas Permanent School Fund, distributes natural disaster relief funding and is responsible for the Alamo. Full Story
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![State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway.]()
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Texas votes: Abortion, border security and marijuana energize voters on Election Day
Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday with a wide variety of issues on their minds, including the state’s grid and the Uvalde shooting. Full Story
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Rural Texas is the state’s foundation. And it’s in jeopardy.
Downtowns are deserted, hospitals are closing, teachers are leaving. Every part of life in rural Texas is harder — but it’s worth saving. Full Story
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![Vehicles pass through Dublin in Central Texas on March 25, 2021.]()
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Panic buttons, automatic locks and bulletproof windows top the proposed safety rules after Uvalde shooting
These proposed requirements could take effect this school year after the Texas Education Agency takes public comment into consideration. Full Story
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![Two DPS officers test classroom doors and patrol the campus at Dalton Elementary School on the first day of school in Uvalde on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
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In wake of the Uvalde shooting, hoax active-shooter calls keep parents and police on edge
An increase in fake active-shooter reports since the beginning of the school year has intensified parents’ anxieties and required an additional law enforcement response. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officers patrol outside the library of Akins Early College High School in Austin on Sept. 15, 2022. The school was put on "hold" — a step below a lockdown — after a threat on social media was reported.]()
Credit: Roberto Ramirez for The Texas Tribune -
“I’m so scared”: 911 recordings reveal fear and urgency of those trapped in Uvalde elementary school
Audio obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica shows just how long police and dispatchers likely knew that children and teachers were in danger before taking action at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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![At 12:33 p.m. May 24, exactly an hour after the gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a group of unidentified police officers began advancing toward the classrooms where he had trapped more than 30 students and teachers. But after one officer said “no, no, no,” they stopped. That moment exemplified the overall failed law enforcement response.]()
Credit: State trooper body camera footage obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
A national bus driver shortage is upending Texas’ beloved Friday night high school football games
School leaders are offering more money and paid training for potential bus drivers. Some routes still go unserved. Full Story
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Paxton, Cornyn and Cruz prod U.S. Supreme Court to end affirmative action in college admissions
The high court heard oral arguments Monday in two cases brought by a group led by the same man who previously lost an affirmative action case against the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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![Barriers surrounded the Supreme Court ahead of planned demonstrations regarding abortion in Texas in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune