Texas House runoffs bring wave of GOP incumbent defeats, give Abbott votes for school vouchers
Six of eight GOP incumbents lost their races. Gov. Greg Abbott declared he “now has enough votes to pass school choice.” Full Story
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![Members vote to approve an anti-voucher amendment brought by state rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, during a marathon session on the House floor to approve HB-1 at the Capitol in Austin on April 06, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Meet Jaden Edison, our new K-12 education reporter
Jaden, who grew up outside Houston, comes to us from the nonprofit Connecticut Mirror. He will take on one of the Tribune’s most urgent and high-profile beats. Full Story
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![Jaden Edison is rejoining The Texas Tribune as our next K-12 education reporter. He starts on June 20.]()
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Texas schools illegally suspended thousands of homeless students
A 2019 law banned schools from suspending homeless students from school grounds but didn’t include money for enforcement. Full Story
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![Danielle Stephen, 20, participates in a Christian service May 8 in Houston's Montrose neighborhood. Stephen, who was kicked off campus and into the streets as a high school student, attended the outdoor service to support people struggling with homelessness.]()
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Families of Uvalde shooting victims sue Texas DPS officers for waiting to confront gunman
In a separate settlement, the city of Uvalde will pay $2 million to the families, create a permanent memorial to the victims and provide enhanced training for police officers. Full Story
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![Authorities gather outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde after a gunman entered and killed 19 students and two teachers on May 24, 2022.]()
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Help ProPublica and The Texas Tribune report on your community’s school board and bond elections
We want to hear about how heated elections affect the people learning, teaching and living in districts across Texas. Full Story
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Credit: Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune -
Former far-right hard-liner says pro-voucher billionaires are using school board races to sow distrust in public education
The largesse from billionaires Tim Dunn and brothers Farris and Dan Wilks has made its way into local politics. Courtney Gore, a Republican school board member in Granbury, says it’s part of their strategy to build support for vouchers. Full Story
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![Courtney Gore, vice president of the Granbury Independent School District Board of Trustees, listens to public comments during a February meeting.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune -
A GOP Texas school board member campaigned against schools indoctrinating kids. Then she read the curriculum.
Courtney Gore, a Granbury ISD school board member, has disavowed the far-right platform she campaigned on. Her defiance has brought her backlash. Full Story
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![Courtney Gore has disavowed the far-right platform she campaigned on when she won election to the Granbury ISD school board.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune -
Houston ISD superintendent accused of funneling tax dollars out of state
A state lawmaker and Houston residents urge the Texas Education Agency to investigate whether the state-appointed superintendent improperly sent public funds to out-of-state charter schools. Full Story
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![Mike Miles, the state-appointed superintendent of Houston ISD, discusses public education in Texas' largest city with Jacob Carpenter, team leader of the Houston Landing, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
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Feds investigate another Texas school district for its gender identity mandate
Katy ISD’s board voted this past fall to require staff to notify parents if their child wants to use a different pronoun or identifies as a different gender. Full Story
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![Free pronoun buttons at the AISD "Pride Out!" Party in the Park event at Eastside Early College High School in Austin on Saturday, Mar. 26, 2022. There were fill-in-the-blank and other options not pictured as well.]()
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Families and schools must work together to tackle youth mental health crisis
The Texas Tribune hosted a panel conversation on the causes and challenges of the youth mental health crisis in the state. Full Story
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Texas school districts violated a law intended to add transparency to local elections
The Texas Tribune and ProPublica analyzed 35 Texas school districts that held trustee elections last fall and found none that posted all of the required campaign finance records. Full Story
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![A photo illustration shows a web search box with “BOARD ELECTION Campaign Finance Report” and “Page Not Found” over a photo of a Texas school building.]()
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Here’s what the law says about protesting on Texas college campuses
Students can generally peacefully protest, regardless of their viewpoint, but colleges and authorities may enforce some restrictions and criminal laws to maintain peace and order. Full Story
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![UT Austin students protest in downtown Austin following Donald Trump's presidential victory, Nov. 9, 2016.]()
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What you need to know about Texas’ school safety policies
Texas lawmakers have mandated armed guards at every public school, panic buttons in classrooms and more staff training. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School students line up to enter their next class Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
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Some South Texas school employees could be barred from holding elected office after fraud investigation
A state-appointed board of managers overseeing the La Joya Independent School District is set to consider the policy this week. 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 will use computers to grade written answers on this year’s STAAR tests
The state will save more than $15 million by using technology similar to ChatGPT to give initial scores, reducing the number of human graders needed. The decision caught some educators by surprise. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School 7th grade teacher Pricilla Martinez leads her class in an activity Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. Martinez said that due to the increased amount of families moving to the Permian Basin, they sometimes teach 38 to 40 kids per class. “It’s been six weeks and I still don’t know all of their names… Its embarrassing to me,” Martinez said.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Two Denton school district principals indicted on charges of illegal electioneering
A grand jury indicted the principals for allegedly using their school emails to encourage staff to vote for certain candidates in the March primary. Full Story
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![A woman holds a sign reading "No Vouchers" outside Denton Calvary Academy on March 27, 2023.]()
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A new Texas law allows schools to hire chaplains as counselors. So far, only one school has opted into the program.
Many independent school districts, including the largest ones, do not allow chaplains to serve as counselors, which is now allowed under a new Texas law. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School students gather in the hallway outside of a classroom as they wait for a teacher between periods Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
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To close or stay open? Ahead of the eclipse, Texas schools weighed logistical hurdles versus learning opportunities
Some districts will close for the day expecting traffic jams and busy city services. Others will stay open for parents who can’t find child care. Full Story
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![Perry Mason, left, points out the solar eclipse to her son Mason Shaddock, 9, during its annularity Oct. 14, 2023, in San Marcos,]()
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State Board of Education again delays discussion on whether to approve new Native studies course
The next opportunity for the board to review the course will not happen until its meeting in June. Full Story
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![The State Board of Education meeting on January 29, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas is two House votes away from passing school vouchers
Abbott called on supporters to push through the primary runoffs to deliver the final pro-voucher members needed to pass his legislation, plus some padding. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during the opening keynote lunch at the Texas Public Policy Foundation Texas Policy Summit 2024 in Austin on March 20, 2024. Gov. Abbott spoke about border security and cartels, school choice for parents of Texas children and the ban of DEI at Texas universities.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune