Graphics and data reporting

Lottery couriers have gained newfound scrutiny in Texas after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick raised questions about the use of a courier to sell an $83.5 million jackpot ticket. Full Story 

A Tribune analysis also found the state’s share of the funds that schools receive per student significantly decreased in the last decade until recently. Full Story 

In six Texas districts that used at-large voting systems, ideologically driven groups successfully helped elect school board members who have moved aggressively to ban or remove educational materials that teach children about diversity. Full Story 

Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold. Full Story 

Texans who fall behind on their property taxes face one of the most punitive systems in the nation, where private collection companies can tack up to 20% onto their bill. Full Story 

Neither of the Legislature’s voucher bills require private schools to accept certain students, which some warn could block the neediest children from access. Full Story 

Here’s how federal courts help determine the fate of controversial issues, such as immigration laws, in Texas and beyond. Full Story 

Supporters hope easing zoning rules will entice landlords to renovate and ease the state’s housing crisis. Full Story 

The estimated 1.7 million undocumented people in Texas are now targets of the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration crackdown. Here’s what we know about them. Full Story 

The Texas Senate has proposed injecting a staggering half a billion dollars into film production, as economists and fiscal hawks question the return on investment. Full Story 

Two of the four cases are in Lubbock, which hasn’t seen a case in more than 20 years. Meanwhile, measles vaccination rates in Texas have fallen over the last four years. Full Story 

Texas students' overall math scores dropped from 2022. But English learners and fourth-grade Black students did better than their peers elsewhere. Full Story 

Emboldened by Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s nomination and disdain for pandemic-era mandates, skeptics are pushing for bills to make it easier to opt out of vaccines. Full Story 

Vouchers would let parents use public funds to pay for their kids’ private education. Learn about how they could work and the political battle around them. Full Story 

The race pitted state Reps. David Cook and Dustin Burrows against each other. Here’s how each representative voted. Full Story 

After the state missed the Jan. 1 deadline, lawmakers still have time to approve administrative costs before applying for $400 million in federal summer meal assistance. Full Story 

The Tribune’s data journalists helped visualize everything from voter participation and extreme weather to gaps in the state’s border wall. Here are some of the highlights. Full Story 

At least a third of landowners approached by state officials have refused to let wall be built on their properties. That’s forced the state to largely build on ranchland in remote areas, or erect sections that are full of gaps. Full Story 

Local leaders and rural revitalization experts say Texas’ smallest towns can survive — despite a shift to urban and suburban counties — but it will take investments. Full Story 

Cruz beat his challenger by 9 points, while Trump prevailed over his by 14 points. Still, Cruz performed better this year than he did in 2018 Full Story