Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath is not changing state standardized test dates for students affected by Hurricane Harvey, but he is waiving some requirements for certain students, his agency said Thursday.
Aliyya Swaby
Aliyya Swaby was the public education reporter for The Texas Tribune, where she worked from 2016 to 2021. Previously she worked at the hyperlocal nonprofit New Haven Independent, where she covered education, zoning and transit for two years. After graduating from Yale University in 2013, she spent a year freelance reporting in Panama on social issues affecting black Panamanian communities. She was an Education Writers Association finalist in 2017 for beat reporting and a Livingston Awards finalist in 2019 for a series on school desegregation.
Posted in
Public Education
Disability rights advocates call for Texas to halt education data mining contract
Disability rights advocates are urging the Texas Education Agency to hit pause on a contract with a company to mine data on how schools are serving students with disabilities.
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In Harvey's Wake
Without recovery funds, more than 50 Texas day cares close after Harvey
A number of Texas day care centers are in rough shape after Hurricane Harvey, adding one more challenge for parents trying to get back home and find work — they’re unable to find a safe place to leave their children.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas Education Agency back in the headlines over special education firing
The TEA says it fired its new special education director because she didn’t reveal that she had been accused of covering up sexual abuse allegations in a previous job. Laurie Kash believes she was fired because she uncovered an illegal agency contract.
Posted in
Public Education
$1.85 million civil lawsuit follows new Texas special education director
Texas’ special education director is facing allegations from her old job in a small Oregon school district that she tried to cover up sexual abuse of a special education student. A civil suit was filed against her last Tuesday.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Harvey-affected superintendents want Texas to waive school ratings
At a House Public Education Committee hearing, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath argued that waiving school accountability ratings for Harvey-damaged school districts could harm student learning.
Posted in
Demographics
Texas education officials reject another Mexican-American studies textbook
The Texas State Board of Education rejected yet another Mexican-American studies textbook in a preliminary vote. But members said they were open to the idea of creating an official elective course.
Posted in
Demographics
With no state-approved textbooks, Texas ethnic studies teachers make do
The Texas State Board of Education is set to vote this week on whether a Mexican-American studies textbook and a Jewish Holocaust memoir should be the first state-approved materials for ethnic studies courses.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
School superintendents hit by Harvey ask lawmakers for help with recovery costs
At a House Public Education Committee hearing Thursday, superintendents rattled off long lists of unexpected costs they incurred after Hurricane Harvey swept through the Texas coast.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Texas creates task force to address students’ post-Harvey trauma
Under a new mental health task force, three state agencies will help connect public schools and universities with counselors, funding and training as students and staff work to overcome the traumatic effects of Hurricane Harvey.
