Several Democrats aiming to unseat incumbent Republicans believe the relative unpopularity of the Republican at the top of the ticket, Donald Trump, will help propel them to victory in the Nov. 8 general election.
Kiah Collier
Kiah Collier was a reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative initiative from 2020 through 2023. She previously worked at the Tribune as a reporter and associate editor, covering energy and the environment through the lens of state government and politics. Kiah has reported for numerous other publications across Texas since 2010, including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. Her beats also have included government and politics, public education and business. Kiah’s work has been honored with numerous prizes, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, the National Edward R. Murrow Award for best investigation and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. A seventh-generation Texan, she grew up in the Austin area and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in journalism and philosophy.
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Public Education
Texas House committee digging in heels for school voucher fight
In a bipartisan sparring match, members of the House Public Education Committee challenged proponents of using taxpayer dollars — or tax breaks — to help parents send their kids to private or parochial schools.
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Public Education
Outgoing Lawmakers: Boost Public Ed Funding to Fix School Finance
Texas House budget and public education leaders said Wednesday that the best way to overhaul the state’s school finance system is to increase the base amount of money it gives to each district per student.
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Public Education
Texas Lawmakers to Highlight Education Spending Divide
The state’s escalating dependence on local tax dollars to fund public schools is expected to be a focus during a joint hearing of two House committees Wednesday and Thursday.
Posted in
State Government
Lawsuit Backed by Ken Paxton Could Spell Trouble for 21 Texas School Districts
Months after releasing an opinion saying it could be illegal for school districts to reduce or repeal their local option homestead exemptions, Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately intervened in a lawsuit filed Thursday.
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Public Education
At Education Panel, GOP Pitches Private School Choice
At a marathon hearing of the Senate Education Committee Wednesday, GOP senators debated how, not whether, to give Texas families taxpayer money to pay for private, religious or home schools.
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Public Education
Ed Board Blames Lege for Mexican-American Studies Textbook
Hispanic advocates, activists and elected officials from across the state on Tuesday called on the Texas Board of Education to reject a proposed Mexican-American studies textbook they blasted as racist.
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Public Education
Publisher Defends Controversial Mexican-American Studies Textbook
The publisher of a proposed Mexican-American studies textbook that scholars, elected officials and Hispanic activists have decried as racist and inaccurate is defending the high school text ahead of a public hearing.
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Public Education
Rich Schools Hopeful Houston ISD Could Topple Robin Hood Plan
Texas has deemed an increasing number of schools as property-wealthy, requiring them to give up a share of their local tax dollars to help buoy poorer districts.
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Public Education
State Representative Calls for Suspension of Texas’ STAAR Exam
A state representative who has passed legislation aimed at reeling in Texas’ standardized testing regime is calling on the state to ditch required STAAR exams while it “tries to iron out STAAR’s many kinks.”
