The latest public education news from The Texas Tribune.
House Speaker Joe Straus issued more than 150 interim charges Wednesday, directing committees to study issues such as the effectiveness of border security operations and the impact of the plummeting cost of oil on the local economy. Full Story
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At the historic Texas School for the Deaf in Austin, strobe lights are supposed to flash in case of fire. But in some places on campus, those visual alarms do not work, according to a state audit report released Tuesday. Full Story
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday called for an end to “a never-ending cycle of perpetual litigation” over how the state funds its public schools, saying the courts should stay out of a legislative decision. Full Story
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Here's full video of the "You're Welcome, America: Texas in 2050" session from the 2015 Texas Tribune Festival. The session was presented by Steve Murdock, a former state demographer and a former director of the U.S. Census Bureau. Full Story
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At our 10/29 conversation, Chief Justice Nathan Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court talked about the timing of a possible ruling on the state's appeal in the school finance lawsuit. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Edu newsletter: Veteran teachers offer mentorship to ward off young teachers' disillusionment, a new study encourages teachers to develop rapport with their students and an interview with Steven Woltering of Texas A&M University. Full Story
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The Public Education track at The 2015 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on turning around struggling schools, pre-K, public education and the Legislature, and charter schools. There was also a conversation with Education Commissioner Michael Williams. Full Story
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During the keynote sessions of the 2015 Texas Tribune Festival, we featured one-on-one conversations with Dan Patrick, Joe Straus, Nancy Pelosi and Julián Castro. You can watch those interviews and videos of our other keynote sessions here. Full Story
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Teacher groups on Thursday renewed their call for the Legislature to put more money into a health insurance plan that has seen school employees foot an increasing share of the premiums as the state contribution has remained the same. Full Story
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The governing body for Texas high school sports decided Monday to ask superintendents to determine whether to formalize a policy that uses student-athletes' birth certificates to determine their gender. Full Story
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Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams informed Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday morning that he will step down from his position at end of the year, Williams' office confirmed. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Edu newsletter: It's not just English language learners who benefit from dual-language instruction, Obama makes a polarizing pick for education secretary and an interview with Keisha Bentley-Edwards of the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
Far more money is extracted from Texans in the form of state and local sales taxes, but property taxes are the source of more complaints. School taxes lead the list but account for a smaller share of the overall tax bill than 10 years ago. Full Story
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In the 2015 Texas legislative session, state lawmakers frequently used their religious beliefs to defend their policymaking. Take a look back at "God & Governing," our documentary-style series on the role lawmakers' personal faith played in their legislating. Full Story
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"School choice," including controversial tax credit scholarships, tops a lengthy list of public education issues Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked state senators to study ahead of the 2017 legislative session. Full Story
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Tune in to "God & Education" — the final part of our "God & Governing" documentary-style series — to see how lawmakers' personal religious beliefs played into abstinence education and school voucher debates in 2015 Texas legislative session. Full Story
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Some State Board of Education members are dismissing a backlash against a textbook that describes African slaves as immigrant “workers," with one Republican saying the ordeal would "make for a great Jerry Seinfeld episode: something out of nothing.” Full Story
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It will get harder for Texas public school students to pass standardized tests this year, Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams announced Tuesday, but the state will ease into the tougher passing standards more slowly than originally planned. Full Story
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The publisher of one of Texas’ controversial social studies textbooks has agreed to change a caption that describes African slaves as immigrant “workers” after a Houston-area mom’s social media complaints went viral over the weekend. Full Story
In this week's edition of the Trib+Edu newsletter: The challenge of finding a principal who can stay for the long haul, Texas gets a conditional No Child Left Behind waiver and an interview with Fredrick Nafukho of Texas A&M University. Full Story