In this week's edition of the Trib+Edu newsletter: The House Public Ed chairman floats a $1.6B school funding plan, voters in New Mexico weigh soda tax to fund a pre-K program and an interview with Kelly Williams of the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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House Public Education Committee Chairman Dan Huberty and Senate Education Committee Chairman Larry Taylor filed bills to help make the A-F accountability system more palatable to educators, who say grading their schools won't help them serve students better. Full Story
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Former and current caseworkers say a plan to move case management services to nonprofits could be problematic and that no one in power is listening to their concerns. Full Story
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More than 600 people signed up on Wednesday to testify before the House State Affairs Committee on the lower chamber's version of the controversial proposal to outlaw "sanctuary" jurisdictions. Full Story
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The Senate Finance Committee gave initial approval to budget items that would cut $180 million from state-funded pre-K in favor of a $40 million public-private partnership. Full Story
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In an attempt to make major changes in how higher education is funded, the Senate Finance Committee is proposing major cuts to each state university. Full Story
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"If Republicans take this opportunity and blow it, we will rightly be considered a laughingstock," U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday regarding divisions among Republicans on the leading proposal to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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U.S. Reps. Will Hurd and Beto O'Rourke — a Republican and a Democrat from Texas, respectively — arrived at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, ending a two-day trek from San Antonio that drew thousands of fans. Full Story
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The upper chamber gave final passage to a bill that would ban what opponents call "partial-birth" abortions and put restrictions on donating fetal tissue, and initial approval to one that would ban doctors from performing dilation and evacuation abortions. Full Story
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Officials with Texas Central Partners, the private firm developing the Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line, said the rider added to the state senate's proposed budget Wednesday would put their project at risk. Full Story
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The Texas House State Affairs Committee is set to debate a bill that would gut funding from local and state entities that don’t enforce immigration laws. Full Story
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Members voted 113-32 to tentatively approve the legislation, which will get a final vote in the House before it can proceed to the Senate. A Senate committee has passed a similar measure. Full Story
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On this week's TribCast, Evan talks to Alexa, Ross and Patrick about Jessica Farrar’s proposed fine for masturbators, the Senate’s passage of the so-called bathroom bill, last week’s court ruling on redistricting and the congressional car trip social media can’t get enough of. Full Story
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Texas Tribune reporter Aliyya Swaby weighs testing and accountability standards with a panel of experts at the Tribune's March public education symposium. Full Story
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In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accuses U.S. agencies of violating federal law by failing to license a nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday that House Speaker Joe Straus is "out of touch with the voters" for opposing the so-called bathroom bill that passed the Texas Senate a day earlier. Full Story
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The House State Affairs Committee is expected to take up legislation that would effectively ban sanctuary cities in Texas. Full Story
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Grand jury reform legislation would allow suspects' attorneys to be present during questioning and would prevent prosecutors from going to another grand jury if the first one declines to indict – unless there's new evidence. Full Story
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The federal judges who said the state's congressional maps are invalid last week are in position to take another step — to require Texas to get federal permission whenever it wants to change election and voting laws. Full Story
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The state carried out its fourth execution of the year, putting to death 61-year-old James Bigby. He was convicted in the 1987 murders of his friend and a 4-month-old during a killing spree in Fort Worth. Full Story
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