Texas A&M System bans drag shows from its universities
The move sparked a new First Amendment fight between students and university administrators. Full Story
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Jessica Priest covers higher education, working in partnership with Open Campus. She joined the Tribune in 2022 as an engagement reporter in the ProPublica/Texas Tribune joint investigative unit, contributing to a series that was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in the explanatory reporting category. Prior to the Tribune, Jessica worked for the Fort Worth Report, USA Today, the Victoria Advocate and the Temple Daily Telegram, reporting on topics that included criminal justice, the environment and local government. Her work has often made an impact. The state’s highest criminal court granted a death row inmate a new trial after she detailed a prosecutor’s conflicts of interest. After she exposed questionable hirings and payments at a port and later a water district in another part of the state, both public entities underwent reforms. Jessica was born in Houston and graduated from Sam Houston State University.
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![Drag queens Hanna Santanna and Lily Adonis Kline during a head-to-head lip-sync battle at the Draggieland show in Rudder Theater on Thursday March 28, 2024.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Ashely Bautista/The Battalion -
Republican senators threaten not to boost Texas public universities’ funding over DEI ban
In a letter, Sens. Brandon Creighton and Paul Bettencourt said they found “numerous” violations of the law, but didn’t provide specifics. Full Story
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![State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, chair of the Senate Committee on Education K-16, speaks at a hearing on Jan. 28, 2025.]()
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Texas A&M regents may soon decide the university system’s next leader
Sources indicate the board has narrowed its search to five candidates: Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, Texas A&M Foundation President Tyson Voelkel, University of Alabama President Stuart Bell and state Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin. Full Story
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![The Texas A&M University campus on June 15, 2020 in College Station.]()
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Overhaul of schools’ STAAR test proposed by Texas House bill
The bill would require the state to reduce the test’s length, prioritize post-secondary preparation and launch a revamped version by 2026. Full Story
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![A calculator and a test sheet on a desk at Elsik High School in 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
UT System names Jim Davis as UT-Austin’s interim president
The decision to name Davis, UT-Austin's chief operating officer since 2023, ends President Jay Hartzell’s tenure months earlier than anticipated. Full Story
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![James E. Davis was named senior vice president and chief operating officer at the University of Texas at Austin in September 2023]()
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Texas now has more top-tier research universities than any other state, report finds
The designations come at a tumultuous time for universities as funding could be cut off and efforts to end tenure continue. Full Story
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Texas universities could face funding cuts for health care research under new Trump administration policy
A federal judge blocked a new National Institutes of Health policy from going into effect in 22 states that sued the agency, but Texas wasn’t part of the suit. Full Story
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![UT Tyler Health East Texas is seen from a garage in Tyler on Dec. 7, 2023. The regional system of hospitals was bought by The University of Texas System, UT Health Northeast and Arend Health Services in March 2018.]()
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UT-Dallas students launch alternative newspaper after clash with administration
Students at the university created their own news organization — The Retrograde — after they reached an impasse with administrators regarding oversight and the firing of the campus newspaper’s editor-in-chief. Full Story
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![Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, editor-in-chief of the University of Texas at Dallas’s new student newspaper The Retrograde, hands out copies of the first edition of the newspaper to students at the UTD student union on January 29, 2025.]()
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Texas lawmakers may ban certain lessons at state colleges under expanded DEI crackdown
Legislators are expected to take up a $360 million proposal that would change the landscape of financial aid in the state. Full Story
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![Students walk through Texas State University campus Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, in San Marcos, Texas.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Donald Trump’s push to freeze federal funds sparks confusion in Texas
Texas cities, counties, higher education institutions and nonprofits clambered Tuesday to gauge the potential fallout from the suspension, later blocked temporarily by a federal judge. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on AI infrastructure at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
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