Greg Abbott, Tim Dunn spend millions in Texas GOP primary fights over vouchers, impeachment
Texans For Lawsuit Reform and pro-voucher groups are also spending millions. Full Story
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![Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signs a bill banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates at the Governor's Mansion in Austin on Nov. 10, 2023.]()
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Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Denton principals for electioneering on district emails
The two principals encouraged colleagues to vote for candidates who oppose school vouchers. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement to the press May 26, 2023 a day before a scheduled impeachment vote in the Texas House in a long-running ethics complaint.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Judge says Texas school district can punish Black student for length of his hairstyle
After a short trial, a Texas judge ruled that Barbers Hill school officials are not violating a new state law prohibiting hair discrimination. Full Story
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![Darryl George with members of his family. Barbers Hill school district has punished George for his hair.]()
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In El Paso, panelists stress area’s collaboration, slam false portrayals
During a Texas Tribune symposium, speakers discussed how the region’s mind-set of working together to solve problems can benefit other parts of the state. Panelists also said inaccurate narratives around immigration and border security only hurt progress. Full Story
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Texas passes on $450 million summer lunch program for low-income families
The USDA estimates the families of 3.8 million children could have received $120 per child to cover summer lunches if the state participated in the new $2.5 billion program launching this summer. Texas is one of 15 states opting out. Full Story
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![Siblings Stacy Hurd, 11, Angelica Hurd, 5, and Sheniya Hurd, 8, eat a free meal together at Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, one of more than 70 sites the East Texas Food Bank sponsors in the summer.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
A Texas school has punished a Black student over his hairstyle for months. Neither side is backing down.
In a test of Texas’ new CROWN Act prohibiting discrimination based on hairstyles, a judge said the Barbers Hill school district can limit the length of male students’ hair. Full Story
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![Darryl George has been punished by the Barbers Hill school district for his hair.]()
Credit: George family/social media -
After 7 years of state oversight, Texas’ takeover of Marlin ISD starts winding down
The transition at the Waco-area school district will shed light on how a democratically elected school board resumes control after a takeover. Full Story
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![Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, far right, answers questions from State Board of Education members during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023 at the William B Travis Building in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas children are still struggling with math after the pandemic. Some schools are trying a new approach.
Policy experts worry students will fall short of the state's future workforce needs. Educators hope the new curriculum will help them. Full Story
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![Third grade teacher Eran McGowan helps students work through math problems at the Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy in Dallas, Texas on Feb. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Border security overpowers school vouchers and Paxton impeachment in Republican Texas House primaries
Despite all the hubbub about vouchers and the attorney general’s impeachment, it’s still about the border. Full Story
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![Texas Republican state House ads touting the border as a central election issue. Clockwise, from top left: Mark LaHood, challenger for HD-121; Joanne Shofner, challenger for HD-11; Chris Spencer, challenger for HD-1; and Gary VanDeaver, HD-1 incumbent.]()
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Active shooter training: State-specific requirements for schools and law enforcement
No states mandate annual active shooter training for police officers, according to an analysis by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and FRONTLINE. In comparison, at least 37 states require such training in schools, typically on a yearly basis. Full Story
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![A man writes a message on a cross at a makeshift memorial left in memory of the victims killed in a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, on May 21, 2018.]()
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Despite grand jury investigation, officers may not face charges in Uvalde shooting response
Local prosecutor Christina Mitchell last month convened a grand jury to investigate police officers’ delay in confronting the gunman at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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![Texas State Trooper vehicles are stationed outside the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on June 2, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Feds asked to overhaul school discipline at North Texas school district after students jailed
The complaint claims Bonham ISD and a city court discriminated against both Black students and disabled students by creating a hostile environment at school. The groups also filed a separate complaint against Corpus Christi ISD with the Texas Education Agency. Full Story
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![Students and teachers walk between classes at Blanco Vista Elementary School in San Marcos on Aug. 23, 2021.]()
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From couch surfing to sleeping in a car: What one teen’s story tells us about homelessness in rural Texas
Georgia DeVries, an East Texas 17-year-old, shared her experience living in a car for one month last year on TikTok. Full Story
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![Georgia DeVries, 17, at a Lufkin-area park on Jan. 18, 2024. Teens in rural areas experiencing homelessness like DeVries face a dearth of services available in cities and often go uncounted.]()
Credit: Leslie Nemec for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Education Agency takes over La Joya ISD after investigating school board for fraud and conflicts of interest
The TEA appointed a “board of managers” to replace the district’s school board trustees and named a new superintendent. Full Story
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![The Texas Education Agency has replaced the entire school board of La Joya Independent School District.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans who defied Gov. Greg Abbott on school vouchers face mounting primary attacks
As promised, the governor is going after members of his own party after some of them tanked his top legislative priority. Full Story
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![A protester, left, pauses to leave a boot at the steps of the Governor's Mansion during a rally to "boot vouchers" on Oct. 7, 2023. Hundreds gathered to protest two days before a special session was slated to begin on Oct. 9, 2023.]()
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An East Texas school district’s flagpole raises questions about America’s separation of church and state
The LaPoynor school district frequently flies a Christian flag, but may not be running afoul of the Constitution because it says students are choosing to raise it. Full Story
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![A solid purple flag flies alongside the U.S. and Texas flags outside of LaPoynor School, part of LaPoynor ISD, in LaRue on Jan. 18, 2024.]()
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Texas’ new school safety law mostly addresses the Justice Department’s advice. But funding fixes is still an issue.
Lawmakers passed House Bill 3 last year to address some of the issues that led to the botched police response during the Uvalde school shooting. Full Story
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![Memorial crosses outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. The now-closed school was the site of the May 2022 mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde victims’ families get official acknowledgement of botched shooting response — but some want criminal charges
Some relatives of the 21 people killed in Texas’ deadliest school shooting are demanding criminal charges after federal officials say delayed police response cost lives. Full Story
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![Kimberly Mata-Rubio, mother of Alexandria Rubio, one of the children killed in the 2022 Uvalde mass shooting, speaks to media after DOJ officials detailed failures in the law enforcement response to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde.]()
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Appeals court blocks Texas from enforcing book rating law
Plaintiffs claimed that the 2023 law, which required book vendors to rate the explicitness of sexual references in materials sold to schools, was unconstitutionally broad. Full Story
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![Vandegrift High School's library on March 2, 2022.]()
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School voucher supporter gave Gov. Greg Abbott $6 million in December
The contribution is the largest single campaign donation in Texas history, according to Abbott’s campaign. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott answer questions from the press after receiving the state’s eleventh consecutive Governor’s Cup, awarded to states with high job creation rates and business growth, at the Governor’s Mansion on March 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune