The U.S. Department of Education has granted conditional approval of the state’s No Child Left Behind waiver. But it remains unclear whether a standoff between the state and the federal government over educator evaluations has come to an end.
Morgan Smith
Morgan Smith was a reporter at the Tribune from 2009 to 2018, covering politics, public education and inequality.
In 2013, she received a National Education Writers Association award for “Death of a District,” a series on school closures. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Wellesley College, she moved to Austin in 2008 to enter law school at the University of Texas.
A San Antonio native, her work has also appeared in Slate, where she spent a year as an editorial intern in Washington D.C.
Posted in
Politics
In North Texas, McCarty and Tea Party Flourish
What began as an almost accidental plunge into politics for Julie McCarty has evolved into what is arguably the state’s most influential Tea Party group, supplanting some of the power held by traditional Texas centers of conservative gravity.
Posted in
Politics
Paxton Goes to Church, Extols Christian Voices in Politics
In a rare public appearance since his indictment in late July, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made an appeal for more Christian involvement in politics as he addressed the congregation at First Baptist Grapevine Sunday.
Posted in
Politics
Paxton Names Legal Defense Team
After spending more than two weeks without a lawyer, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a defense team in the ongoing financial fraud case against him.
Posted inState Government
Paxton Pleads Not Guilty; Lead Lawyer Quits Case
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s first courtroom appearance as a criminal defendant was a 30-minute affair during which Paxton’s lead lawyer quit for unspecified reasons, the attorney general insisted no cameras be allowed at his trial and the judge admonished everyone to limit public statements about the case.
Posted inState Government
Paxton Faces First Court Hearing in Fraud Case
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is expected to plead not guilty when he appears in court Thursday for the first time since his booking on three felony charges earlier this month.
Posted in
31 Days, 31 Ways (2015)
More Protection for Child Sex Trafficking Victims
Under a new state law, law enforcement officials will be able to take children suspected to be sex trafficking victims immediately into protective custody instead of waiting for a court order. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series.
Posted in
Politics
A Guide to the Legal Players in the Paxton Case
As allegations that Ken Paxton improperly steered people into investments while failing to disclose his own financial involvement take the spotlight, so have a series of legal heavyweights on both sides of the case.
Posted inState Government
In Bastrop, Jade Helm Begins With a Whimper
The predictions included martial law, mass citizen roundups and widespread gun seizures. So what really happened as Jade Helm 15 started Wednesday in Bastrop County was pretty damn boring.
Posted in
Health care
Scientology Group Urged Veto of Mental Health Bill
After a Church of Scientology-backed group helped organize a campaign against it, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed legislation that would have given Texas doctors more power to detain mentally ill and potentially dangerous patients.
