A past Texas State Board of Education chairman and outspoken creationist urged his former colleagues on Tuesday to approve high school biology textbooks he said would "strike a final blow to the teaching of evolution."

The Texas Education Agency is stepping up its scrutiny of accountability violations with a new department devoted to investigating complaints of cheating. But questions remain about the agency's ability to effectively operate the division. 

The current crop of seniors will likely be among the last not containing a majority of Hispanic students. It will also, based on preliminary enrollment data from the 2012-13 school year, likely be among the last not containing a majority of students from impoverished backgrounds.

A state request to waive No Child Left Behind testing requirements for students in elementary and middle school has been denied by the federal government, thwarting a state effort to end some tests for high-performing students.

In a new campaign web video released Monday, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst tells voters that "you can't have opportunity without freedom" and urges them to "stand tall" with him against Washington encroachment on Texas values.

The number of full-time cyber schools serving public school students will double in the upcoming year despite a history of lackluster performance and a new law limiting how many online courses students can take at the state’s expense.

State Board of Education member Thomas Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, sparred for nearly two hours on Saturday over the controversial state curriculum system known as CSCOPE.

After a relative was arrested for shoplifting in a grocery store, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst personally called a North Texas police department to ask how to get her out of jail, saying she had been incarcerated on a "mistaken charge."

For the first time since the charter school system was created in 1995, the state education board will no longer play a central role in determining which charter schools get approved. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series.

Your evening reading: A&M switches gears on law school plan; Dewhurst is a "listening leader;" former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul won't be giving a nod to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in 2016.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is facing three GOP primary challengers in his re-election bid, released a campaign video Tuesday highlighting his relationship with the grass roots and his skills as a listener — whether it's during "ice cream with Americans for Prosperity or dinner with the Waco Tea Party."

With two Texans playing key roles, infighting within the Republican party on how to defeat Obamacare continues. 

Your evening reading: Judge blocks school district's use of CSCOPE; Smitherman calls for "conservative crusade" against EPA; extra time for jurors in Fort Hood shooting trial to review testimony

A group of plaintiffs in the Llano Independent School District has obtained a court order banning the use of CSCOPE lessons until those lessons get State Board of Education approval.

If Gov. Rick Perry makes a second bid for the White House in 2016, there is mounting speculation that he may have some home-state competition for the Republican nomination from a certain junior senator.