Bill that would make vaccine exemptions easier to obtain clears Texas House
The bill would allow a vaccine exemption form to be downloadable. Currently, a form must be requested from the state and mailed to the recipient. Full Story
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![A nurse administers a dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine at a clinic organized by the Travis County Mobile Vaccine Collaborative at Rodriguez Elementary School on July 28, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers debating DEI ban in K-12 schools ask: Do students benefit from teachers who look like them?
Conservative lawmakers say DEI efforts are discriminatory and push liberal ideologies on children. Critics point to research showing a diverse teacher body helps students succeed academically. Full Story
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![Instructor's Aid, Nicole Johnson, walks JoAnn Zavala's pre-K students down the hall to music class, their first "specials" visit for the day, on Sept. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Bill requiring Texas hospitals to report the citizenship status of patients killed in House
It is unclear whether the House bill could come back as an amendment to another measure before the legislative session ends June 2. Full Story
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![An Austin-Travis County EMS unit parked near a hospital's emergency entrance in Austin on July 7, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
ICE says it deported more than 500 people in the Houston area in one week
The agency did not offer details about the types of crimes or immigration violations the majority of the people were accused of. Full Story
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![A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent’s badge in front of the J.J. Pickle Federal Building in downtown Austin on April 1, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Bill to ban child marriages in Texas advances in the House
Before the House takes a final vote on the bill, it could face a proposal that would allow adults and minors to marry if their age gap is three years or less. Full Story
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![The dome of the Texas State Capitol on Thursday, April 24, 2014.]()
Credit: Anneke Els Paterson for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature approves bill to ease polling place requirements for countywide voting
The bill would reduce the minimum number of polling places that Texas counties must have, rolling back a 2023 law that created challenges for election administrators. Full Story
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![locals wait outside a polling location in Wimberly on Election Day, Nov. 05, 2024.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Can Texas make its housing more affordable?
In this week’s episode, we discuss Texas’ rising home prices and the steps the Legislature is taking to reduce them. Full Story
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![Suburban development south of Austin on Oct. 2, 2024.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill to overhaul STAAR test clears the House but faces a skeptical Senate
House Bill 4 would make the test shorter and base scores on how students’ performance compares to national averages. 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. STAAR testing begins across Texas on Tuesday.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Bill to expand Texas’ medical marijuana program heads to Senate
House Bill 46 would increase the number of health conditions eligible and would offer smokeable products under the state’s medical marijuana program. Full Story
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![Workers sort strawberry-passionfruit CBD gummies at the Texas Original facility on Sept. 26, 2024. Texas Original is Texas’ first licensed medical cannabis distributor.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
After college students protested Israel-Hamas war, Texas Senate votes to restrict time, place and manner of future events
Sen. Brandon Creighton says the bill will prevent disruption. Critics say it walks back conservative lawmakers' previous pledge to protect campus free speech. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety troopers surround a pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of Texas at Austin campus on April 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribune -
“A gift to our mothers”: Moms could drive solo in car pool lanes under Texas House bill
The bill originally allowed pregnant women to drive in HOV lanes, to be consistent with Texas abortion laws, but legislators extended it to all mothers. Full Story
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![A toll road in Austin on Dec. 17, 2019.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
It’s not just about vouchers and school funding. Here are other Texas public education bills you should track.
Student discipline, uncertified teachers and school bans on DEI and cellphones are some of the topics being debated at the Texas Legislature this session. Full Story
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![A classroom at Kennedy-Powell Elementary in Temple on April 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
New Senate bill offers last-minute reprieve for troubled Texas Lottery
A key Senate critic threw a lifeline to the Texas Lottery when he proposed moving its oversight to a new agency instead of eliminating it entirely. Full Story
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![Lottery tickets sit near the entrance of Hyde Park Market in Austin on May 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Proposals to require judges to deny bail more often advance through House panel, signaling a broader agreement
Amending the Texas Constitution to crack down on the state’s bail practices has been an elusive priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s for three consecutive sessions. Full Story
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![An Austin Bail Bonds II sign near Interstate 35 on Feb. 5, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House votes to strictly define man and woman, excluding trans people from state records
If it becomes law, the bill would define sex based on reproductive organs and require state documents and policies to comply with that framework. Full Story
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![Over 300 activists and supporters marched from the Bexar County Courthouse to Crockett Park in “March for Us,” San Antonio's third annual celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility, on Saturday, March 29, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.]()
Credit: Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune -
6 takeaways about Alex Fairly’s journey into Texas GOP politics
Texas’ newest Republican megadonor Alex Fairly got a look under the hood of Texas’ far-right political machine, and didn’t like what he saw. Here are six takeaways from his exclusive interview with The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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![Alex Fairly attends a board of directors meeting for the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation on Monday, April 21, 2025, in Amarillo.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers propose abortion pill bill that can’t be challenged in state courts
The bill contains many provisions legal experts say are likely unconstitutional, including one that says it can’t be challenged in state court. Full Story
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![State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, speaks on the Senate floor on March 25, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Texas allows certain children to get married. Lawmakers may close that loophole.
Lawmakers in 2017 took a major step to end most child marriages. However, emancipated teenagers 16 and older can get married. Full Story
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![The Capitol dome is seen from the north side of the complex in Austin on March 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton says Google will pay Texas $1.4 billion to settle privacy suit
The state attorney general sued Google in 2022, alleging it unlawfully tracked and collected users’ private data. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a press conference in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025.]()
Credit: Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats cancel planned vote to condemn Rep. Henry Cuellar
Concerns about measures to enforce a ban against a lawmaker’s access to voter files led the party to drop the vote, a party leader said. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, speaks about the U.S.-Mexico border at the World Trade Bridge at a news conference in Laredo on Feb. 17, 2023.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune