The chambers differ on how much power districts should have to push back in courts over their accountability ratings. They risk keeping STAAR by default if they don’t reach an agreement.
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas lawmakers are in Austin for the 89th Texas Legislature’s second, 30-day special session. They are redrawing the state’s congressional map, considering limits on consumable THC products and pushing flood preparedness measures. A first special session ended without successful legislation after House Democrats fled the state to block Republicans’ proposed congressional redistricting map. The regular session ran from January to June and resulted in a new school voucher program, a ban on DEI initiatives in public schools and proposals to increase the state’s water supply.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Stricter bail rules win final passage in Texas Legislature, will go to voters in November
The House passage of the measure asking voters to amend the state Constitution to tighten the state’s bail laws hands a major policy win to Gov. Greg Abbott.
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Running Out: Texas’ Water Crisis
The one thing Texas won’t do to save its water supply
Texas property owners can use nearly as much water under their land as they want. That’s unlikely to change even as the state approaches a crisis.
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Texas Legislature 2025
A bill to air-condition all Texas prisons likely to fail again in the Senate
House Bill 3006 would have required the installation of climate control in state prison by 2032.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas just defined man and woman. Here’s why that matters.
Critics say House Bill 229, which has gone to the governor, discriminates against trans people, but the full effect remains to be seen.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas poised to add $100 million to child care scholarship program
Reallocated funding for the program that will go to providers will benefit nearly 95,000 children on a waitlist for scholarships.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Bill that would have banned Texas minors from social media misses key deadline
House Bill 186, approved by the lower chamber in May, never received a vote in the Senate.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas to expand how schools discipline students
House Bill 6, which now heads to the governor, targets the increase in violence that has plagued schools since the pandemic.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Automatic denial of bail for some migrants fails to pass Texas House
Supporters said the proposal, which sought to amend the state constitution, would improve safety. Critics said it would violate due process and unfairly target minority groups.
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Running Out: Texas’ Water Crisis
Lawmakers near deal to spend $20 billion over two decades on water crisis
The deal allocates $1 billion a year to water projects for 20 years, which some groups estimate is a fraction of what Texas needs to save its water supply.