Superintendents in hundreds of Texas school districts rely on a pot of state funds that expires in September. Without drastic cost-saving measures, some districts are worried they may have to shut down.
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.
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Public Education
Legislature unanimously approves last-minute overhaul of school A-F ratings
The Senate and House negotiated a compromise on how to tweak a statewide plan for grading schools and districts. Educators and advocates are asking why the overhaul happened so late, without their official input.
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Public Education
Texas Senate approves bill tweaking A-F school grades
The Texas Senate approved a bill that would tweak a plan to grade school districts — well past a midnight deadline for passing legislation.
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Public Education
School finance legislation is pronounced dead
Senate Education Chairman Larry Taylor on Wednesday afternoon said that he would not appoint conferees to negotiate with the House on a proposed school finance overhaul. “That deal is dead,” he said.
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Public Education
Texas might keep the standards, cut funding for Abbott’s pre-K program
Gov. Greg Abbott demanded the House and Senate fund his pre-K grant program holding school districts to quality standards. So they came up with a budget proposal that keeps the standards, but cuts the grants.
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Public Education
Texas House passes bill extending alternative high school graduation route
The Texas House on Monday passed a bill extending a program that lets students who fail a couple of required exams take an alternative route to graduation.
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Public Education
Texas Senate puts voucher-like program in school finance bill
The Texas Senate voted to approve a bill that would simplify funding formulas for public schools and let parents use state money to send their kids with disabilities to private schools or pay for homeschooling.
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Public Education
Texas Senate will consider many bills in one for school finance vote
The Texas Senate will consider a version of the school finance bill, as soon as Sunday, that now includes an assortment of other House and Senate education bills — according to a notice Senate staffers received Saturday.
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Public Education
Third time not the charm for House rep’s school lunch legislation
Rep. Helen Giddings failed a third time to pass a bill that would prevent school districts from identifying students without money in their school lunch accounts — again when a member of the Freedom Caucus killed it.
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Public Education
Educators take issue with Senate plan for school assessment
Educators and advocates found it hard to concur on the Senate’s version of House Bill 22, either finding it too restrictive and tied to standardized tests or not quite strict enough.
