The latest Texas Education Agency news from The Texas Tribune.
The audit says the Texas Education Agency consistently bypassed required steps and failed to consider other options before awarding a special education contract. Full Story
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Justin Porter, previously the education agency's executive director of special populations, will oversee how Texas school districts are serving kids with special needs. Full Story
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In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, two teacher groups argue Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath exceeded his authority and weakened protections for public school employees. Full Story
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The state is about to hand out report cards on Texas schools and school districts, raising anxiety levels among educators and — once the grades are out — with parents, businesses, politicians and taxpayers. Full Story
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These days, more students and teachers report being happy at Spring ISD's Bammel Middle School, and the number of three-day out-of-school suspensions dropped from 94 last school year to 47. Full Story
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Our Facebook community, This Is Your Texas, spent the month of April discussing Texas education policy. With the state education agency expected to announce a plan to overhaul special education programs in public schools, we asked members of our community what questions they have about such services — and turned to a disability rights advocate for help answering them. Full Story
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A Texas Education Agency plan requires school districts to find and serve the large number of students who may have been left out of special education for years. School administrators say they're at a loss for how to pay for that with no requisite increase in state funding. Full Story
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Kids and parents and teachers have spent the week struggling through another round of standardized testing in Texas public schools. Voters hate it, so politicians hate it. But the test results are a key ingredient of the state's education policy. Full Story
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Texas school districts hit hard by Hurricane Harvey may not have to worry as much about how well their students fare in this year's State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced Wednesday at a meeting of the State Board of Education. Full Story
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Two years after software problems rendered results on the statewide STAAR exam unusable, students taking the test Tuesday reported more technical problems. Full Story
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The conservative House Freedom Caucus called for the Legislature to address "head on" a state statute they say impedes Texans' ability to work and makes it even harder for them to pay back their debt. Full Story
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The Texas Education Agency has posted its plan for overhauling the way it educates students with disabilities — while highlighting the agency's limitations on available funds. Full Story
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On Wednesday, Abbott outlined steps the state's education leaders should take to prevent tragedies like the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 people dead. Full Story
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Districts often say they will only hire uncertified teachers for career and technology courses. But because there are no state restrictions, some experts are concerned that uncertified educators will teach core classes. Full Story
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An internal review of the Texas Education Agency's contracting regulations found this week that the agency needs a more concrete process for determining whether to bypass competitive bidding when it enters into a new contract. Full Story
Take a look back at our 2017 public education coverage and read about how the Texas Legislature failed to overhaul the school finance system, how several Texas students and teachers are still recovering from a devastating hurricane, and more. Full Story
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Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath is not changing state standardized test dates for students affected by Hurricane Harvey, but he is waiving some requirements for certain students, his agency said Thursday. Full Story
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The TEA says it fired its new special education director because she didn't reveal that she had been accused of covering up sexual abuse allegations in a previous job. Laurie Kash believes she was fired because she uncovered an illegal agency contract. Full Story
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The firing comes two days after The Texas Tribune reported that Laurie Kash was facing a lawsuit over allegations that she covered up the sexual abuse of a 6-year-old student at a previous job. Full Story
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Texas' special education director is facing allegations from her old job in a small Oregon school district that she tried to cover up sexual abuse of a special education student. A civil suit was filed against her last Tuesday. Full Story