Biden makes first Texas trip as a 2020 presidential candidate, pitching new education plan
The former vice president was making a two-day swing through Texas, with stops planned in Houston and Dallas. Full Story
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![Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop in Philadelphia, Pa. on May 18, 2019.]()
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Texas House, Senate pass school finance bill mandating teacher raises and cutting taxes
The $11.6 billion school finance and property tax reform bill is now poised to head to Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dennis Bonnen signs paperwork on the House floor on May 25, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Teacher raises and all-day pre-K: Here's what's in the Texas Legislature's landmark school finance bill
The $11.6 billion legislation is on a path to the governor's desk and includes property tax cuts, a hike in per-student funding and money to ease the state's reliance on the "Robin Hood" program. Full Story
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![Corina Pannabecker teaches first grade at Ogden Elementary in San Antonio on April 30, 2018.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
This session's biggest mental health bill got killed on a technicality — then resurrected
Senate Bill 10, focused on connecting children to mental health services, was knocked out of contention with a parliamentary maneuver Tuesday night but was revived as an amendment to another bill hours later. It's one of several measures the state's GOP leaders championed in the wake of the deadly shooting last year at Santa Fe High School. Full Story
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![Former state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, on the House floor on May 21, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Texas teachers often spend their own money on supplies. This year, lawmakers are pondering giving them raises.
“I don’t think twice about spending the money on those kids, other than it’s unfortunate that I have to do it," one teacher said. Full Story
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![Rena Clegg, an art teacher at Pflugerville ISD, shops for classroom supplies on May 14, 2019. Some teachers like Rena spend more than $100 on supplies, all out of their own pockets.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Julián Castro unveils education plan with focus on pre-K, tuition-free college
It's the second policy rollout from the Democratic presidential candidate. Full Story
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![Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro speaks to supporters at a fundraiser at Native Hostel in Austin on May 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Feds will visit six Texas school districts this week to monitor special education
The visits are part of the U.S. Department of Education's ongoing oversight of Texas' special education programs after an investigation last year showed the state had violated federal special education law. Full Story
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![Vanessa Tijerina addresses the panel about her 13-year-old special needs child who has been denied special education for four years on December 13, 2016. U.S. Department of Education officials held a meeting in Edinburg on their tour of Texas to hear community members' experiences with special education, continuing an investigation of whether Texas is capping services for students with disabilities.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Making friends and influencing people in the Texas Legislature
It's hard to gather support for the state's most persistent problems when you're also pressing forward with issues that divide and anger Republicans and Democrats. It's also business as usual in the Texas Legislature. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks from the dais in the Senate chamber on April 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
"We're all afraid to go to school": After Santa Fe, Texas seeks to make students safer
Almost a year after the massacre at Santa Fe High School, state lawmakers are considering ways to make students and teachers feel safe in the classroom again. Full Story
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For many Texas teachers, health insurance premiums are huge — but so are the hospital bills
It's not unusual for teachers to spend over $1,000 a month on health insurance. Full Story
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![Liz and Jeremiah Pena are educators in Birdville ISD in Haltom City and last year they estimated they paid over $11,000 in health insurance premiums alone. They think that the pay increases and per student increases included in House Bill 3 are a good thing but that it would have helped many educators like them more to focus on lowering TRS (Teacher Retirement System) insurance premiums. Photographed at Haltom High School where Liz Pena is Assistant Principal.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
All Texans in Congress now have money to pay interns. Will they?
Congressional internships in Washington, D.C., have traditionally been unpaid. While some Texans in Congress have paid some of their interns in the past, those opportunities were not always well-publicized. Full Story
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![The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 7, 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate passes two-year budget with money for property tax cuts — but no plan for how to spend it
The Senate budget also includes a $6.3 billion boost for public schools, about $4 billion of which would increase teachers’ and librarians’ annual salaries by $5,000. Full Story
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![State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound on the Senate floor on April 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
We’ve updated our Texas Public Schools Explorer with 2017-18 data
Use our Texas public schools database to learn more about the state’s 1,200 districts and 8,759 public schools, including hundreds of charter schools and alternative campuses. Full Story
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![Ogden Elementary in San Antonio on April 30, 2018.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate panel advances budget bill that mirrors House plan on education, property tax reform spending
The two-year plan, which must still pass the full Senate, includes a $9 billion infusion for public schools and property tax relief and up to $900 million in cuts to Medicaid. Full Story
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![Chairmain of the Senate Finance Committee and state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, during a committee meeting on April 3, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate aligns with House on how much to spend on education, property tax reform
Both chambers now want to put $9 billion toward public schools and levy reductions. But they disagree about how to spread it out. Full Story
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![Senate Education Committee Chariman and state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, during a committee meeting on Mar. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
State monitor orders Houston school trustees to halt superintendent search, according to reports
The directive came the same day that Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath expanded a conservator's oversight of Houston public schools. And it followed on the heels of Gov. Greg Abbott advocating for the state to take over the district. Full Story
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![Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath speaks to the State Board of Education members during a meeting in Austin on Jan. 29, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers eye a rainy day fund withdrawal that could set a new record
Proposals in the Texas House would spend $6.6 billion from the state’s savings account; the Senate would spend $4.4 billion. Full Story
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Watch our event on the future of Texas public education
We're livestreaming our two-day event in Austin diving into the most pressing issues facing students and educators across Texas. Full Story
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Texas Senate unveils its first version of a school finance reform bill
The bill is part of a series of proposals designed to slow property tax growth and fix how the state pays for its schools. Full Story
![Senate Education Committee Chariman and state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, during a committee meeting on Mar. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Immigration, border security remain the top worries of Texas voters, UT/TT Poll finds
Ask Texans what problems they're most worried about for the U.S. and for the state, and their eyes turn to the border between Texas and Mexico, the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll found. Full Story
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Credit: Photo illustration by Shelby Knowles/Miguel Gutierrez Jr. for The Texas Tribune
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