The Texas Department of Public Safety did a sweep of Capitol grounds with K-9 dogs and found no explosive devices.
Sneha Dey
Sneha Dey is an education reporter for The Texas Tribune, working in partnership with Open Campus. She covers pathways from education to employment and the accessibility of postsecondary education in Texas, with an eye on college readiness, community colleges and career and technical training. Prior to joining the Tribune, she had stints at NPR’s Education Desk and Chalkbeat. Sneha is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She grew up in New York and is based in Austin. Read Articles by Sneha Dey
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Foster Care in Texas
Federal judge says Texas’ use of psychotropic drugs puts foster kids at serious risk
Residential facilities did not refill medications in a timely manner, failed to follow psychiatric orders and, in several instances, violated state guidelines, court monitors documented after site inspections. The lawyer representing the foster kids said it could be “the tip of the iceberg.”
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Foster Care in Texas
Texas Senate votes to close employment loophole after Refuge foster care scandal
The upper chamber unanimously passed Senate Bill 182 after The Texas Tribune reported that a state-licensed foster care facility hired a caretaker whom the Texas Juvenile Justice Department previously fired for having inappropriate relationships with children.
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Foster Care in Texas
How a 12-year-old federal lawsuit turned a judge into Texas’ foster care czar
As Judge Janis Jack continues to threaten contempt-of-court fines in a federal lawsuit against the state’s foster care system, advocates say the case has moved the needle on reform — but it has come with a hefty price tag.
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Foster Care in Texas
Texans who take custody of their relatives’ kids struggle to make ends meet — and to get more aid from the state
Relative caregivers, like grandparents who want to keep kids out of foster care, usually get half as much state assistance as strangers who take in children.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Texas Senate scales back proposed restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender kids
Senate Bill 14 would now allow trans children who are already receiving some transition-related treatments to continue getting that care. The Senate gave initial approval to the reworked legislation Wednesday.
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Foster Care in Texas
In abrupt retirement letter, an investigations director decries Texas’ “untenable” child welfare agency
Sharon Fonvielle-Baughman said Texas Department of Family and Protective Services leadership has failed to support the special investigators division, a unit created in 2005 to handle the most high-risk cases.
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Foster Care in Texas
Caseworkers hampered by ’90s-era foster care software that the state hasn’t replaced
Caseworkers and foster care providers often get incomplete and inaccurate information about foster kids in their care because of the state child welfare agency’s archaic technology system.
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Criminal Justice
Texas executes Gary Green for 2009 murder of his wife and her 6-year-old daughter
Green’s appellate attorneys unsuccessfully argued that his intellectual impairments and mental health status made him ineligible for the death penalty.
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Higher Education
Texas Tech basketball coach Mark Adams suspended over “racially insensitive” comment
The head coach is also being investigated for allegedly spitting on a player during a game earlier in the season.