Analysis: COVID-19’s almost incomprehensible toll in Texas
We’ve lost a lot of Texans already and will surely lose more to the coronavirus. Doesn’t it seem like there should at least be a moment of silence? Full Story
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![Val Verde Memorial Gardens in Donna. July 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas reopenings tied more to COVID-19 severity than to spread
Leaving behind their focus on the spread of the coronavirus, Texas leaders now say hospitalizations will guide their decisions on how to regulate social distancing at businesses and cultural centers. Full Story
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![Fans begin to arrive at the stadium before kickoff for the first home football game of the season at the University of Texas at Austin on Sept. 12, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
State releases numbers showing low Texas public school infection rates, but the data is limited
The state's first effort to publicly report coronavirus data from schools shows low statewide infection rates. Breakdowns by school districts should be reported next week. Full Story
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![Students draw their self-portraits, including their masks, in Mrs. Hogan's kindergarten class on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary on Sept. 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas schools seeing steep declines in number of students getting free meals
Many families with students learning at home can't access the free breakfasts and lunches they depended on when their children were attending school in person. Full Story
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![Round Rock ISD food service worker Hema Patel prepares meals to distribute to families during a curbside meal distribution at Bluebonnet Elementary School on Aug. 20, 2020 in Round Rock.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Many Texas students will return to classrooms Tuesday. Little will be normal.
As students across Texas return to schools for in-person classes, there will be masks, distancing and lunches eaten at desks. Many students will remain at home, joining in on laptops and phones. Full Story
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![Students sit at socially distance intervals in the lunch room at Jacob’s Well Elementary School in Wimberley on Sept 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
ACLU warns 500 Texas school districts to revise discriminatory dress codes
The letter comes two weeks after a federal judge blocked the Barbers Hill Independent School District from keeping a dress code policy that advocates have called racist. Full Story
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![The administration at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu told senior DeAndre Arnold to cut his dreadlocks.]()
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Analysis: Some Texas voters are still uncertain, but so are the issues
Voters who still haven't decided which candidates to support in November might be uncertain for a good reason: The issues that would help them decide — pandemic, recession and all the rest — are shifting rapidly. Full Story
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![A man exits Toney Burger stadium in South Austin where early voting has begun for the July 14th runoff and special election, in Austin on June 29, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Special education students lost crucial help when the pandemic hit. Texas schools are still struggling to restore it.
Ten percent of Texas public school students need special education resources, and many were left stranded when schools closed abruptly in the spring. Educators and parents face challenges again this fall reconnecting kids with the therapists and specialists they need. Full Story
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![Five-year-old Nora gets a hand from her mother, Melissa, as she meets with her new kindergarten class virtually in the family's home in Katy on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Those aren’t just COVID-19 numbers. They’re Texans.
There are 347,700 Texans losing federal supplements to unemployment insurance. And 716,000 students getting laptops and tablets for virtual school. And 11,395 COVID-19 deaths. Each statistic has a human face. Full Story
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![Elizabeth McNiel, the owner of Ironwood Saloon and an ASL teacher, and her husband Ryan in their empty bar in Sabinal, the only one in town. They shut it down because of COVID-19 mandates. Aug. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Christopher Lee for The Texas Tribune -
For this working mom, the risk of her son contracting coronavirus outweighs the need for him to be in class
Amy Mason says there are just too many unknowns for her to feel comfortable sending her 4-year-old to school at this point. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![Amy Mason and her son, Clark outside their home in Fort Worth.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Amy Mason -
Sam Houston State University canceled its in-person graduation and fall sports — but hosted a Tiffany Haddish comedy show
The school allowed up to 675 students into its indoor Johnson Coliseum to watch comedian Tiffany Haddish on the first day of classes. Full Story
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![Tiffany Haddish poses at the premiere of the film "Sonic the Hedgehog" in Los Angeles, California on Feb. 12, 2020.]()
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Texas school district's dreadlocks ban discriminatory, federal court rules
The decision comes a month after the Barbers Hill Independent School District board of trustees voted to keep the dress code policy, which advocates have deemed racist. Full Story
![The administration at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu told senior DeAndre Arnold to cut his dreadlocks.]()
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When sharing pencils isn’t safe, this San Antonio teacher is helping crowdfund extra school supplies
In the weekend edition of The Brief podcast, listen to why Ambra Hernandez felt compelled to launch a Facebook group to help teachers fulfill their longer-than-normal wish lists. Full Story
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![Ambra Hernandez, left, poses with a student and parent outside of Stevens High School in the San Antonio-area.]()
Credit: Courtesy Ambra Hernandez -
Analysis: Shopping for students without schoolrooms, Texas is spending $250 million to narrow the digital divide
In a state where an estimated 30% of the state's 5.5 million public school students don't have the right technology for online learning, switching to virtual classrooms is daunting. And expensive. Full Story
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![Eagle scout and high-school graduate Will Clarkston, 20, logged into The Bridge School from his bedroom in Houston Tuesday, October 4, 2011. He is taking classes there get ahead before going to community college in the spring.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
With school reopening, Gov. Greg Abbott sets off another debate over whether local or state officials are in control
Abbott’s decision to curb the role of local health authorities in school reopening decisions has added to the ongoing conflict between him and local governments during the pandemic, with mayors and judges voicing frustration over having their hands tied by the state’s response. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott puts on his mask during his press conference after talking to local and county officials about the damage done by Hurricane Hanna in Nueces and Kleberg counties on July 28, 2020.]()
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Private schools in Texas limit enrollment as they aim to reopen classrooms
Dependent on tuition money, private schools are eager to get children back into their classrooms. But they know inadequate safety measures could make them vulnerable to lawsuits. Full Story
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![Students and teachers walk through the halls at Cactus Elementary School on Jan. 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says local health officials can shut down schools only in limited circumstances
Abbott said local health authorities can't shut down in-person instruction before school starts, but an outbreak on campus once students have arrived could prompt a closure. Full Story
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![A student walks down the hallway at Cactus Elementary School in Cactus on Jan. 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers also fear returning to Texas schools
Texas schools employ almost as many support staff members as they do teachers, often in hourly or part-time jobs with low pay. The state has offered limited guidance on how to protect them on the job. Full Story
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![School buses are parked at the Austin Independent School District bus center in July.]()
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Texas schools are being compelled to reopen classrooms on the state's timetable, like it or not
Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to formally announce a definitive plan for reopening Texas schools safely, but two actions Tuesday effectively force districts to have students back in classrooms after eight weeks of the school year's start. Full Story
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![Science students at Bayless Elementary in Lubbock, raise their hands to answer a question.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for the Texas Tribune -
Texas fifth and eighth graders won't have to pass STAAR test to move on to the next grade
Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that Texas students must take the state standardized test next spring, but fifth and eighth graders can graduate without passing it. Full Story
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![STAAR themed decorations adorn the hallways of Wharton Elementary School in Wharton on April 21, 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune