Texas Senate approves school funding proposal focused on teacher raises
Teachers with three and five years of experience would qualify for raises under Senate Bill 26. Instructors in smaller school districts would get bigger pay bumps. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3e10bd012c075d922d3faf6445098bfd/0205%20Math%20Scores%20AS%20TT%2003.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/Alejandro_Serrano_2x3.jpg)
Alejandro Serrano writes about Texas politics and government, with a focus on immigration and education issues. Since joining the Tribune, he has helped investigate the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, lived for half a year in Eagle Pass during a temporary assignment covering immigration and documented a variety of major occurrences in the state from Houston, where he used to live. He previously covered education for the Houston Chronicle and breaking news for the San Francisco Chronicle. The Long Island, New York, native received his bachelor's degree in journalism from Northeastern University. He is based in Austin and speaks fluent Spanish.
Latest Contributions
-
![Third grade teacher Eran McGowan watches students demonstrate their answers to the class at the Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy in Dallas, Texas on Feb. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Abbott orders TEA probe of Houston school for calling a student by chosen name and pronouns
The governor also called on lawmakers to prohibit the practice at all schools. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2a7511a7e615298e1164ff3d16a43f7d/0412%20Abbott%20McAllen%20School%20MG%20TT%2018.jpg)
![Gov. Abbott speaks to parents during an event hosted by the Parent Empowerment Coalition at Covenant Christian Academy in McAllen on April 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzales for The Texas Tribune -
Freezing weather, wildfire and flood risk forecast across Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott said the state’s power grid “has never been stronger than it is now” and should weather the cold without issues. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/55eb838fa897e530c0e346f697d958a1/Winter%20Storm%20Abbott%20Presser%20JV%20TT%2006.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference regarding Texas’ emergency response to an unprecedented winter storm gripping Texas on Feb 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Who are the undocumented immigrants in Texas?
The estimated 1.7 million undocumented people in Texas are now targets of the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration crackdown. Here’s what we know about them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9394287cfb93197a2d429f9a0b79cd3a/lead_undocumented-immigrants.png)
![There are estimated 1.7 million undocumented immigrants in Texas. That's one in 20 Texans.]()
Credit: Yuriko Schumacher/The Texas Tribune -
Texas appeals court hears attorney general’s arguments for questioning Catholic Charities director over migrant services
Three Republican judges heard oral arguments Wednesday after a lower court blocked Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to depose the charity’s leader. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/56b477fcdd669af4f6138706c5e2504c/Migrants%20in%20McAllen%20JG%20TT%2013.jpg)
![Migrants are greeted by Sister Norma Pimentel in front of the Catholic Charities RGV Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, on April 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
After teasing border security rollback, Texas plunges in deeper
Texas’ border spending exploded after Joe Biden’s election, then state leaders signaled a new willingness to reduce it when Trump won. That didn’t last long. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a31fd80f152b8c4ecfd7764cf67cbc33/0116%20Eagle%20Pass%20Shelby%20Park%20EG%20TT%2015.JPG)
![Texas National Guard members load a raft to a pickup at the bank of the Rio Grand at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, on Jan. 16, 2024. Texas has closed off Shelby Park, cutting access to federal agents to part of the Texas-Mexico border and escalating tensions between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas National Guard to make immigration arrests under agreement with Trump administration, Abbott says
Gov. Greg Abbott said that the agreement was effective immediately. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f57474ff2308a2c795dd2f2345d9ad01/National%20Guard%20Ciudad%20Juarez%20REUTERS%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Members of the Texas National Guard stand guard on the banks of the Rio Bravo river, the border between the United States and Mexico, with the purpose of reinforcing border security and inhibiting the crossing of migrants into the United States, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, May 12, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez -
An immigrant faces deportation after a routine traffic stop in Texas, sparking more fear
Advocates worry that rapidly shifting federal and state immigration initiatives will prompt more city police to funnel migrants without criminal records to federal agents. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/fb1cf43e4494ae0e55ba3b81aadaf8cf/0128%20Lubbock%20Deportation%20MR%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Jose Alvaro (his first and middle name), his wife Ashley, children 6-month old Jose, 1-year old Arrceli and 4-year-old Antonio at their home near Lubbock, Tx. on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Jose Alvaro is in danger of being deported and working with an attorney to stay home with his family.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott sends state troops to U.S.-Mexico border to work with Border Patrol
The 400 members of a special tactical unit left bases in Houston and Fort Worth on Monday morning, according to the governor’s office. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/299da1cc6d314369c20f6f4ab60091ab/1126%20Abbott-Homan%20MGO%20TT%2002.jpg)
![Gov. Abbott speaks to DPS Troopers and National Guard troops at a Thanksgiving dinner event in Edinburg on Nov. 26, 2024.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Senate investigation of migrant child’s death finds poor medical care at border protection facilities
The Senate Judiciary Committee launched its investigation following the 2023 death of an 8-year-old girl at a facility in Harlingen. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4f230f82f83ff2b1c86e2e27901fe8a1/Roma%20Border%20Crossing%20SP%20TT%201455.jpg)
![Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers are apprehended by Customs and Border Protection after crossing the border in Roma on Aug. 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune