Former U.S. Secretary of Education and Houston Superintendent Rod Paige this morning asked the State Board of Education to delay adopting its standards, saying they had “swung too far” to the ideological right and diminished the importance of civil rights and slavery. Asked if the board should delay a final vote expected Friday, he said, “Absolutely.”
TribBlog: History Paige
Posted inState Government
Ads Infinitum: Perry Calls White “Tax Hiker”
Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign thinks there’s something funny about Bill White’s position on taxes.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Defenseless
Before adopting the Fair Defense Act in 2001, Texas was considered abysmal in legal circles when it came to providing representation for the poor. Proponents and critics of the current system agree the situation has improved since lawmakers started requiring counties to implement minimum representation standards. But has it improved enough?
Posted in
Public Education
Lame Ducks Unlimited
Four members of the State Board of Education who are exiting their seats in January are preparing to cast decisive votes this week on controversial curriculum revisions that will alter social studies textbooks for 4.7 million public school children in Texas. But, just maybe, not so fast: Two Republicans who’ll likely win election to the SBOE this fall, and a Democrat who is vying for another soon-to-be-vacated seat, said in interviews that they’d support reopening the standards process if consensus emerged on the newly constituted board.
Posted in
State Government
Generation Next
Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, may be 50, but he’s only been in the House for three sessions. He’s part of a youth movement in the power corridors of the Legislature — one that’s less about age than lack of seniority.
Posted inState Government
Nip and Tuck
In January, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker asked state agencies to cut 5 percent from their 2010 budgets. On Tuesday the three state leaders released a list of cuts — and revealed a few exemptions to their earlier order. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
Posted in
Politics
2010: Poll vs. Poll
On the heels of a Rasmussen Poll that had Democrat Bill White well behind incumbent Republican Rick Perry in the race for governor, Austin-based Opinion Analysts released a survey showing a nine-point lead for Perry. But that Democratic polling firm adds a fat caveat, reading the Guv’s favorability ratings as negative and pointing out that 48 percent of voters want a change in the state’s top office, when asked if they prefer Perry or “someone else.”
Posted inState Government
The Brief: May 18, 2010
The state misused the blood samples of Texas babies, and lawmakers yesterday showed they are not happy about it.
