The latest education news from The Texas Tribune.
For our latest HuTube post, we picked out memorable testimony from Friday morning's five-hour State Board of Education debate. SBOE members ultimately approved a resolution instructing publishers to limit a perceived "pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias" in Texas textbooks. Full Story
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We have thousands of great educators. We should set them free, allow them to be more entrepreneurial and hold them accountable for results. Instead, we make decisions in Washington and Austin that unfortunately have the effect of discouraging innovation. Full Story
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After a 2006 bus accident in Beaumont that killed two students and injured several more, parents and legislators successfully demanded the state finance seat belts in school buses. Today, four years later, the Legislative Budget Board finally gave approval for a grant program — but the rules the board set likely will exclude the Beaumont area from getting the money, even though the grassroots movement started there. Full Story
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As chairman of the Select Committee of Public Education in the '80s, Ross Perot took on high school athletics hammer and tongs: “If the people of Texas want Friday night entertainment instead of education," he said, "let’s find out about it." An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. Full Story
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Students are heading back to school this week, and some of them will begin learning about the birds and the bees. The Texas Education Code requires that abstinence be the focus of any sex education curriculum — but as Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, there are some changes this year to how sex ed is being taught. Full Story
Galbraith on grass, federal money and efforts to prevent another dust bowl, Ergenbright on school suspensions and who gets punished; Aguilar's interview with Alan Bersin, whose job is to keep the U.S./Mexico border secure, M. Smith on why it would be harder than you think to ditch the 14th Amendment, Adler and me on whether controversy is politically contagious, Ramshaw on the flap over funding for the state's institutions for the disabled (it's not about the money), my meditation on the state's fiscal woes (including a $1.3 billion deficit in the current budget), Philpott on proposed cuts to the state's food stamp program, Grissom on the push by Hidalgo County officials for a special election that might not be legal; Hamilton on the seven Texas universities that are making a play for Tier One status and Stiles on the mid-year cash-on-hand numbers reported by campaigns and political action committees: The best of our best from August 16 to 23, 2010. Full Story
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Stiles on Bill White's donor-appointees, M. Smith on a form of meritless lawsuit that's still legal in Texas, Ramshaw on what federal health care reform means for the future of physician-owned specialty hospitals, Galbraith's interview with the chairman of the Public Utility Commission, Philpott on the latest flap over federal education funding, Grissom on the finally-in-compliance Dallas County Jail, Titus on the oiled pelicans of the BP spill, Hamilton's interview with the new chancellor of the Texas State University System, Ramsey on the political and legal definitions of residency, Hu on Barack Obama's visit to Austin and Aguilar on what the U.S. could be doing to aid Mexico: The best of our best from August 9 to 13, 2010. Full Story
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The state's GOP leaders say the strings attached to $800 million in federal education funding by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, are not only too restrictive — they could be unconstitutional. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has this report. Full Story
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Ben, Ross, Evan and Matt talk about President Obama's visit to Texas and who didn't want to be seen with him, the battle over strings attached to federal education money, Bill White's donor-appointees and the legal and political definitions of residency. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Washington dangled bait in front of Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday, but the governor still isn't biting. Full Story
The U.S. House has passed a bill on Tuesday that is expected to send about $800 million to bolster the state’s education budget. But thanks to an amendment added by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, the funding comes with Texas-specific strings attached. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has this report. Full Story
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Can a $3 million marketing campaign to promote higher education change the culture of a country-sized state in which just 27 percent of the population has a college degree or certificate? It worked for cancer ... Full Story
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Thevenot on bogus public school accountability rankings, Garcia-Ditta on what locals think of increased patrols on the border, Stiles and Ramsey on where Kay Bailey Hutchison's donors have landed, Grissom on the pay gap between state and local police, Cervantes on how tweaks to the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder will impact Texas, M. Smith on the sinking prospects for an East Texas wetlands project, Ergenbright on the challenge of educating autistic children, Aguilar on efforts to legalize medicinal marijuana, Ramshaw on former foster children having trouble getting records from the state and Burnson on public health officials battling imported infectious diseases: The best of our best from August 2 to 6, 2010. Full Story
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With a friend like the federal government, who needs enemies? Full Story
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Texas will sue the federal government, yet again, if Texas-specific requirements are not removed from budget legislation that passed the U.S. Senate today, according to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Full Story
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After a decade in which Texas has seen a 400 percent increase in the number of children with autism, lawmakers are wrestling with how best to educate the afflicted — and how to pay for it. Full Story
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Officials announcing controversy-laden public school ratings Friday could barely contain their upbeat unease. Full Story
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A new study suggests that while the state's English curriculum is among the best in the nation, our math curriculum doesn't measure up to a set of new national standards. Matt Largey of KUT News reports. Full Story
In this week's TribCast, Ross, Elise, Ben and Brandi discuss the issues framing Texas politics this week — education, immigration and campaign finance numbers. Full Story