Public schools got little help from lawmakers this year to address the state’s chronic teacher shortage, so they’ve turned to other creative solutions — like leaning on cultural exchange programs to recruit international teachers.
Caroline Wilburn
Caroline Wilburn was a reporting fellow at The Tribune in 2023, based in College Station. Previously, Caroline interned with The Bryan-College Station Eagle, where she reported on crime, education and health. She was born and grew up near Dallas before attending Texas A&M University, where she studied journalism. She previously served as the news editor at Texas A&M’s independent student-run newspaper, The Battalion.
Posted in
Courts
Sandra Day O’Connor, born in El Paso, remains point of civic pride
O’Connor, the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice, died Friday. She is more commonly known as an Arizonan, but she graduated high school in Texas and multiple schools here now bear her name.
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas A&M names Mike Elko as new head football coach
The announcement comes after the university spent more than $75 million to fire former football coach Jimbo Fisher. A&M did not immediately say how much it will pay Elko.
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas State University will host first 2024 presidential debate
The debate, scheduled for Sept. 16, 2024, will be the first of four for the general election. The San Marcos school would be the first Texas university to hold a presidential debate, Texas State officials said.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House committee moves school safety funding forward
The two new measure could bring $1.3 billion more to schools to pay for security systems, fencing and personnel training.
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas community colleges see biggest enrollment recovery since the pandemic
The uptick comes after community colleges saw enrollment drop by about 80,000 students between 2019 and 2021.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
School leaders say Texas’ campus safety funding doesn’t cover new state mandates
A bill to increase the state’s support for school safety appears stalled in this month’s special legislative session. But even if it passes, superintendents warn it isn’t enough.
Posted in
Politics
Federal judge rules Galveston County commissioner maps violate Voting Rights Act
Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, found the county districts denied Black and Latino voters “the equal opportunity to participate in the political process.”
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas borrowers face hard financial choices after student loan pause ends
Payments resumed this month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan is unconstitutional. For many, the pause meant the difference between saving and making ends meet.
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas A&M System’s guidance on the state’s DEI ban shows compliance might be a hard needle to thread
The guidance asks universities in the system to avoid using the acronym DEI on their websites and walk a fine line between organizing events that “support diversity in a general way” but don’t “promote preferential treatment of any particular group.”