The State Board of Education may try to modify the state’s rigid new standardized exams — the STAAR tests — in a way that allays school districts’ concerns that they’re losing local control over grading.
82nd Legislative Session
Posted in
Health care
Video: Planned Parenthood Clinics Close In Hidalgo County
The state’s family planning reductions hit the Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County especially hard. In September, the association shut down four of its eight health clinics and laid off half of its staff. Anti-abortion advocates argue the state should not “subsidize the abortion industry.” The Trib’s Thanh Tan and Justin Dehn report from Hidalgo County.
Posted in
Public Education
John Folks: The TT Interview
The outspoken head of the state’s fourth-largest school district— newly crowned as Superintendent of the Year — on school finance lawsuits, the impact of cuts to public education funding and the upcoming transition to end-of-course exams.
Posted in
State Government
Will New Voter Registrar Rules Decrease Turnout?
A new law imposing citizenship restrictions on deputy and volunteer voter registrars has voting rights groups worried that fewer Texans — in particular, fewer minorities — will cast a ballot next year.
Posted in
Demographics
Video: Tea Party Demands Perry Act on “Sanctuary Cities”
A group of Tea Party activists pushing for stricter immigration laws Monday asked Gov. Rick Perry to leave the presidential campaign trail and call the Legislature back into session to tackle a ban on so-called sanctuary cities.
Posted in
State Government
Video: Wimberley High School Adopts New Concussion Rules
Nationwide, about 60,000 concussions occur on high school fields every year. The Tribune visited Wimberley High School to find out how it is preparing for new state laws to prevent head injuries in student athletes.
Posted in
State Government
New Rules Aim at Reducing Football-Related Head Injuries
New rules intended to reduce the danger of concussions in high school football players are now in effect. But do they go far enough?
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Mike Leach: The TT Interview
The former Texas Tech football coach on his pending lawsuit against the university, how the state’s doing at educating student athletes and what happens if the Big 12 falls apart.
Posted in
Guides
Texplainer: Can Texas Use the Rainy Day Fund to Fight Wildfires?
Gov. Rick Perry has said the Rainy Day Fund should be preserved as an insurance policy against natural disasters, but Texas can’t actually dip into it until the next legislative session — in 2013.
Posted in
Public Education
In Public Schools, Perry Shuns Federal Influence
Gov. Rick Perry’s early opposition to the Obama administration’s education policies — whose bipartisan backers include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — make him something of an ideological outlier among Republicans.
