“I represent a district that has 80 percent renters, 70 percent of people speaking a first language other than English, where there’s a high school with 42 languages and 40 percent turnover of the student body every year — now tell me how you plan to calculate the dropout rate,” Rep. Scott Hochberg said. “I will stipulate that it’s too big — let’s just start there. I wish we fought over solutions as much as we fight over the number.”
Dropout problem drags Texas down
Posted in
Public Education
Faulty figures: The great dropout debate
Despite years of research, the true picture of dropout and graduation rates remains elusive, even the subject of cross words between researchers. The consensus: Far too many Texas public school students, particularly those from poor and minority families, don’t cross the high-school finish line.
Posted inState Government
2010: Another El Paso Republican to challenge Moody
El Paso Republican Rene Diaz invited us at The Texas Tribune this morning to join him on his “journey” as he runs for the Texas House. Diaz is going to run for the HD78 seat that Democrat Joe Moody now represents.
Posted inState Government
2010: The Distinguished Gentlelady from H-P?
Another Texan is running for the U.S. Senate — but in an actual race, not a hypothetical one that depends on dominoes falling, and not in Texas. Austin native Carly Fiorina, the ousted CEO of Hewlett-Packard and a chastened adviser to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, made formal today her plans to seek the Republican nomination for the California Senate seat now held by Barbara Boxer.
Posted in
Health care
Student Restraints Day 2: How Texas school districts compare
Texas school districts vary widely in how often they physically restrain students with disabilities – despite a shared state policy on when to use them. Use this interactive graphic to see how school districts compared during the 2007-08 school year, the most recent statewide data available.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
On the Records: Dealing with FEC data
Long story short: It’s a nightmare.
Posted inState Government
Bartlett Calls for GOP Inclusiveness
Dan Bartlett, George W. Bush’s communications director and counselor, talks with the Tribune’s Evan Smith about the intra-party struggle between conservatives and moderates in the Republican party. (To listen to the full thirty-minute interview with Bartlett, see related stories.)
Posted inState Government
2010: Hair Yesterday, Gone Today
So Houston hair-care king Farouk Shami is in the race, pledging to spend $10 million to win a Democratic primary in which the majority of voters are still undecided. Among the interesting things to watch will be the dynamic between Shami and his rival for the nomination, Kinky Friedman, as the two are well acquainted: Shami was the subject of one of Kinky’s fawning TEXAS MONTHLY columns (edited by yours truly) back in 2003 — the sort of piece in which he would go all gooey over someone he professes to love, like Racehorse Haynes or Jim Nabors.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: November 4, 2009
Enroll in a soon-to-be tier-one university, frolic freely along the coast, and create a buffer zone around your military base!
Posted in
Demographics
Poll: What Texans are worried about
The economy clearly leads Texans’ list of concerns about the country in the inaugural University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
