Texas House advances bill that would give retired teachers a pension raise
The proposed raise would be the first time in nearly 20 years that some retirees would get a cost-of-living adjustment. Full Story
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![Kindergarten teacher Angie Hogan instructs students to make a "bubble" of room between other students on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary on Sept. 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
How San Antonio ISD is paying for its largest teacher pay raise in years
The district is eliminating dozens of unfilled jobs and might need to make other cuts as soon as next school year as enrollment continues to decline. Full Story
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![Dozens of teachers, cafeteria workers and librarians called for pay raises during a San Antonio Independent School District board meeting in March.]()
Credit: Bria Woods/San Antonio Report -
After backlash, Abbott expresses some regret after labeling all Cleveland shooting victims “illegal immigrants”
The governor’s focus on immigration status, not the loss of life, draws rebukes from across the country. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
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T-Squared: Meet the Tribune’s 2023 summer fellows
Tribune fellows boost our journalism while gaining valuable experience in all aspects of the operation of a modern news organization. Full Story
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![The Texas State Capitol seen on August 11, 2022.]()
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“A death sentence”: Trans Texas teen plots his future as proposed ban on hormone therapy progresses
As Texas House members could soon vote to ban transition-related care for minors, many lives are in limbo, and trans kids like 16-year-old Randell are grappling with difficult decisions. Full Story
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![Randell inspects the rose bush outside of his home in Fort Worth, on April 27, 2023. He says it can be difficult for anything, or anyone, to grow in Texas.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
As Title 42 comes to an end, El Paso declares state of emergency
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said asylum-seekers are camping out on the sidewalks and staying at shelters in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, under the false notion that they will be allowed to enter the U.S. once Title 42 expires. Full Story
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![Migrants stand in line to enter the makeshift shelter inside the gym of Sacred Heart Church in El Paso on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
FBI, Texas authorities search for gunman who killed 5 neighbors in San Jacinto County
In the face of mass shootings in Texas, state leaders have made it easier to access guns. Full Story
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![In a still image from video, an aerial view of the wooded area where a search is being conducted for Francisco Oropeza, 38, who police say shot dead five neighbors in Cleveland on Saturday, April 29, 2023. The shooting took place the night before.]()
Credit: ABC affiliate KTRK via REUTERS -
Gunman kills 5 neighbors, including child, in San Jacinto County home, sheriff says
The suspect, who is still being sought, had been asked to stop shooting his rifle in his front yard because of a sleeping baby, according to authorities. Full Story
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![The exterior of the Cleveland home where a person killed five people at a home late Friday.]()
Credit: KTRK via REUTERS -
Protesters decry stalled fentanyl test strip bill; Texas House passes get-tough criminal penalties
Stuck in committee, the test-strip legislation has support from Gov. Greg Abbott and bipartisan lawmakers, who see it as a way to save lives. Full Story
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![State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on April 3, 2019.]()
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Texas House votes to require panic buttons in every classroom and armed guards in every school
Lawmakers have said school safety is a priority this session, but it is still unclear whether they’ll listen to Uvalde families who want to raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic guns from 18 to 21. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officers patrol outside the library of Akins Early College High School in Austin on Sept. 15, 2022. The school was put on "hold" — a step below a lockdown — after a threat on social media was reported.]()
Credit: Roberto Ramirez for The Texas Tribune -
House passes bill to rein in “rogue” prosecutors
The legislation is in response to elected prosecutors in Texas’ large, left-leaning counties who have said they will not prosecute abortion cases. Full Story
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![The Bexar County Courthouse in San Antonio.]()
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When it comes to upping mental health services, Texas has a Medicaid problem
Texas wants to expand mental health services, but many mental health providers do not accept Medicaid because of its lower payment rate. Full Story
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![Demonstrators participate in a mental health rally at the Texas Capitol, organized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, on Feb. 28, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
“A way to throw kids away”: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice department is sending more children to adult prisons
Moving the most violent and troubled youths to adult prison makes it easier to help others in juvenile facilities, some prosecutors and lawmakers say. Youth justice advocates say Texas is giving up on the children who most need help. Full Story
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![Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility, in Lee County on July 20, 2022.]()
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Texas imprisoned Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. when he was 11, purportedly for his own good. Five years later, he returned home in a casket.
“They didn’t try to fix the brokenness,” his mother says. “They just broke him more.” Full Story
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![Long time friend Robin Anderson, left, stands alongside mother Amnisty Freelen and her husband Aarin Freelen, during a funeral service for their son Joshua Keith Beasley Jr., 17, on April 1, 2023 at the McCrury Cemetery in Bogota, Texas.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Watch: Texas immigrants “shocked” by bill that would have prevented them from buying homes
Initially, Senate Bill 147 would have prevented legal Texas residents from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from buying land. Pushback from immigrant groups persuaded senators to soften the proposal. Full Story
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![Protesters gathered in Houston on Feb. 10, 2023 against SB 147, which at the time would have prevented citizens from China and other countries from purchasing land in Texas.]()
Credit: Fabiana Chaparro/The Texas Tribune -
Illegal voting in Texas likely to be a felony again after state House vote
The Texas Senate has passed similar legislation. But a key policy separates the two chambers. Full Story
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![A voter casts her ballot at the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center during Election Day in Houston on Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
New Biden plan will let people in Latin American countries apply to legally enter U.S., Canada or Spain
As it prepares for the end of Title 42, which lets U.S. officials rapidly expel migrants, the Biden administration said it will open centers in Guatemala and Colombia where people can apply to legally enter the three participating nations. Full Story
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![A migrant family embraces each other moments after crossing the Rio Grande and ino El Paso from Ciudad Juárez on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022.]()
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Texas House OKs $5 billion for broadband, if voters give thumbs up
The legislation — which falls short of the $10 billion needed to ensure all Texans have reliable internet access — must still win approval in the state Senate. Full Story
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![A splice can that contains 432 fiber cables in Louisville, Kentucky on April 19, 2021.]()
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Texas House advances $4.5 billion school funding bill
Lawmakers have already proposed directing billions of dollars to schools so they can lower property taxes and pay for safety upgrades. But House Bill 100 would be the first to increase the amount of money districts receive to raise teacher pay and cover the actual costs of educating students. Full Story
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![Students learn about Martin Luther King Jr. in Rosa Ramirez's second grade class at Linder Elementary School in Austin on Jan. 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Miranda Lipton for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers hope an investment in teacher training will help keep new educators in the classroom longer
A bill passed by the Texas House on Wednesday would also help schools rehire retired teachers and offer other incentives in an effort to fight the state’s teacher shortage. Full Story
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![Jessica Lemmer went over a fraction problem with her third grade math class Jan. 14, 2018 at Edward Titche Elementary School in the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune