Now that the Texas House has a quorum following Democrats’ two-week absence, lawmakers are back to debate a wide range of issues, including redrawing congressional maps to benefit Republicans.
Debates over THC, abortion pills, STAAR and more resume as Democrats return for second special session
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Texas measles outbreak
State health officials declare West Texas measles outbreak over
With no new cases reported in 42 days, the nation’s largest measles outbreak in 30 years, is declared over.
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Redistricting Texas 2025
Texas House Democrats return to Capitol, ending walkout over redistricting plan
After two weeks out of state, Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, paving the way for Republicans to pass their proposed congressional map.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Vaccine exemption requests in Texas spike in July, as some experts fear more families will opt out
Federal funding cuts to immunization efforts and a new law that allows exemption forms to be downloaded, instead of mailed, could drive up exemptions in the future.
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Texas Legislature 2025
From a cell phone ban to Ten Commandments posters, new state laws bring big changes to Texas schools
Lawmakers also approved new teacher raises, banned DEI initiatives and gave schools more flexibility to discipline students.
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Immigration
Feds plan to build nation’s biggest migrant detention center at Fort Bliss
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a contract to build and run a 5,000-bed tent camp at the Army base in El Paso.
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Graphics and data reporting
Texas students’ STAAR scores for this year are out. Here’s how your school or district did.
Test scores rose slightly after math scores previously fell last year.
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Politics
Beto O’Rourke PAC donated more than $1 million to Democrats during redistricting battle
A judge temporarily barred Powered by People from fundraising for Democrats or financially supporting the quorum break.
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Public Education
Five Texas school districts at risk of a state takeover after ratings’ release
The state can take control of a school district if at least one of its campuses receives a failing grade five years in a row.
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Graphics and data reporting
Texas school ratings improve, but more campuses inch closer to state sanctions
Fewer schools received a D or an F in the 2024-25 school year than the year prior. But for campuses that are underperforming, two or more years of low grades in a row means more pressure to improve — or risk more state oversight.
