Royce West

Education Commissioner Mike Morath on Tuesday outlined plans to crack down harder on chronically low-performing schools, saying he wants to cut in half the number of them that end up on the state’s failing list over the next five years.

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Less than a month after state Sen. Royce West sued Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant for allegedly trashing the lawmaker's rental home, the football player is striking back with his own lawsuit. 

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State Sen. Royce West is suing Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant for allegedly trashing — to the tune of more than $60,000 in repairs — a property he had leased to Bryant.

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Two Texas lawmakers said Sandra Bland should have never been arrested after watching the video of the traffic stop taken from the Texas Department of Public Safety trooper’s car that was shown in a closed door meeting before being released to the public.

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Lawmakers from both chambers gathered Wednesday to lend support to a range of bills that would limit the loan size and number of installments offered by payday and auto title lenders.

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On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talk about last week's "breakfast blowup." 

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State Rep. Ron Reynolds made his case on Thursday for requiring cops in Texas to wear body cameras, citing the fatal police shooting of an unarmed man in South Carolina. But police advocates were skeptical. 

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As a bystander's video of a South Carolina cop shooting and killing an unarmed black man reignites a national debate over police brutality, Texas lawmakers are set to discuss police body cameras in a public hearing.

 

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The Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to send proposals cutting property taxes and business taxes to the full Senate, though some senators questioned whether the property tax cuts could be better spent in other ways.

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During a Senate Education Committee hearing Thursday, lawmakers questioned whether A-through-F ratings for schools would provide a clear picture of a school's performance.

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As a key Senate committee prepares to hear public testimony on tax cut proposals Wednesday, senators expressed strong interest in repealing the state's unpopular margins tax on businesses, which has raised $4.7 billion annually.

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Here's video of our 84th Legislature preview session on the relationship between the House and the Senate. Panelists included state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, state Sen. Royce West, state Rep. Charlie Geren and state Sen. Larry Taylor.

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We're liveblogging the sessions from the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival's Public Education track. The sessions include panels on education reform, the new math requirements for high school graduation, early college high schools, and insight from superintendents.

 

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New court data show that the number of tickets written by public school police officers for student misbehavior has fallen 71 percent since new laws designed to reduce the procedure went into effect late last year.

 

 

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Gov. Rick Perry continued to work to get Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg to resign even after following through on the threat to veto money for the Public Integrity Unit.

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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was in fence-mending mode with conservative gadfly Glenn Beck on Monday

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Ethics watchdogs are applauding gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott for proposing what would amount to a sea change in Texas ethics laws.

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The Longhorns and Sooners won't be the only ones looking for a win this weekend in Dallas. More than 30 Texas legislators are hoping to turn the Red River Rivalry game into campaign cash.

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We're liveblogging this weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival's Criminal Justice track, which includes panels on guilt and innocence, juvenile justice, guns, and a one-on-one conversation with Attorney General Greg Abbott.

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With the help of a new law, the Dallas Independent School District is designing a program that will funnel money saved when students graduate early into expanding pre-kindergarten offerings.  

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