Morgan Smith explains how some parents are choosing not to let their children take the new and rigorous STAAR tests. And Kate Galbraith tells us how state officials may use money from BP for coastal restoration.
school finance
Posted in
Public Education
Education Commissioner’s Remarks Draw Backlash
Some high-profile members of the education community aren’t pleased with Texas Education Agency chief Robert Scott’s speech on Tuesday criticizing the role of testing in schools.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas Schools Chief: Testing Has Gone Too Far
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott received a standing ovation today after he told a gathering of public school educators that the state testing system has become a “perversion of its original intent.”
Posted in
Health care
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Tan and Dehn talk to some of Gov. Rick Perry’s allies about his return to Texas, Aaronson maps (interactively!) the insured and the uninsured among us, E. Smith’s TribLive interview with state Rep. David Simpson on Perry’s race and TSA pat-downs, M. Smith on a Texas school so broke it’s shutting down sports, Whitney on a split in the legal community over divorce forms, KUT’s Philpott on abuse in state hospitals, Ramshaw reports on the governor’s decision not to repay taxpayers for protection during his presidential campaign and Aguilar on the state’s attempts to put its voter ID law in force: The best of our best content from January 23-27, 2012.
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Health care
Weekend Insider: Abortion Sonogram Law, Cancelling Highschool Sports
Emily Ramshaw explains how family planning clinics are complying with the state’s new abortion sonogram law. Morgan Smith shows us a school district that is canceling its sports program.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
10 Most-Viewed Data Apps of 2011: Salaries, Prisons, Public Schools
As it has since the Trib’s launch in 2009, data continued to reign supreme on the site in 2011. Today, we take a look at the 10 most-visited data apps since Jan. 1.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson on Rick Perry’s Texas Enterprise Fund, Aguliar on the DOJ’s Joe Arpaio problem, Galbraith on the uncertainty about Texas’ electric grid, Grissom and Schwartz of The New York Times on the latest in the Michael Morton case, Hamilton on the first leg of Perry’s Iowa bus tour, Murphy and McLain unveil our new campaign finance database, Ramsey et al. go live with the first round of our 2012 election brackets, Root on a GOP rival’s queries about Perry’s pension play, M. Smith contrasts the various school finance lawsuits and Tan, Dehn and Murphy on a shortage of mental health professionals: The best of our best content from December 19-23, 2011.
Posted in
Public Education
Keeping the School Finance Cases Straight
By the end of the year, there will likely be four school finance lawsuits filed against the state. Here’s a primer.
Posted in
Public Education
Hochberg’s Exit Leaves a Hole in the House
After 20 years, Scott Hochberg is bailing out of the Texas Legislature. He’ll get back his nights and weekends. But he also won’t be at the Capitol to help sort out education policy and financing.
Posted in
Public Education
Latest School Finance Challenges Resigned to Robin Hood
Texas has a long history of school finance lawsuits, many of them fought over the same themes. But in the latest round, one phrase has been conspicuously absent from the discussion: Robin Hood.
