Federal pandemic aid helped build public school mental health services in Texas. School officials now brace for the expiration of those funds next year. They’re urging lawmakers to create a dedicated funding stream for mental health assistance in schools.
mental health
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Guns in Texas
Greg Abbott says to stop mass shootings, Texas must improve mental health care. A $25 billion investment hasn’t been enough.
Texas still lags nationally when it comes to mental health services and there have been seven mass shootings since Abbott took office in 2015.
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Texas Legislature 2023
When it comes to upping mental health services, Texas has a Medicaid problem
Texas wants to expand mental health services, but many mental health providers do not accept Medicaid because of its lower payment rate.
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Public Education
Proposed ban on corporal punishment in Texas schools fails again
Texas public schools can allow corporal punishment, which includes hitting, spanking, paddling or deliberately inflicting physical pain to discipline students.
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Health care
For migrant children who cross the border alone, a new set of challenges getting health care awaits
A report from the Migration Policy Institute and the American Academy of Pediatrics details the barriers undocumented children face in the United States.
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Politics
Texas kids would need parental consent to create social media accounts under House bill
The House gave initial approval to the bill Tuesday. The legislation is a priority for Speaker Dade Phelan.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Senate approves $15 million bill to expand local mental health treatment options for children and families
The proposal would offer hospitals and nonprofits grant funding to expand child and family mental health services.
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Criminal Justice
Texas House passes bill barring the death penalty for some mentally ill defendants
The chamber has repeatedly passed legislation in recent sessions eliminating the death penalty in cases of severe mental illness, but this year the measure faced increased pushback from conservative lawmakers.
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Health care
Workforce shortages in the state psychiatric hospital system prolong jail time for mentally ill Texans
The state has added more beds for jail inmates who need psychiatric treatment to be considered competent to face trial. But at least a third remain empty because the state can’t hire enough people to staff them.
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Criminal Justice
Texas executes Arthur Brown Jr. for Houston slayings despite claims of innocence, intellectual disability
Brown’s appeals ran out after almost 30 years on death row. Defense attorneys claim Harris County prosecutors hid evidence pointing to another suspect in the 1992 shooting deaths of four people in a Houston drug house.
