Katy ISDโs board voted this past fall to require staff to notify parents if their child wants to use a different pronoun or identifies as a different gender.
Health care
In-depth reporting on public health, healthcare policy, hospitals, and wellness issues shaping communities across Texas, from The Texas Tribune.
In rural Texas, ERs are facing a growing mental health crisis
The mental health workforce shortage is more acute in rural areas, adding to rising patient loads in hospital ERs.
Legalized marijuana supporters hope voters in this Texas city will send a message to state lawmakers
There is no process in Texas for a voter-driven statewide referendum. So, supporters are going city by city to build statewide momentum.
Amarillo council may reconsider abortion travel ban after residents gather 10,000 signatures
Supporters began the petition drive after the City Council punted on the proposed policy. Voters may have the final say.
Is marijuana legal in Texas? What you need to know about the stateโs pot laws.
A proposed change in how the federal government classifies the drug wonโt change state laws.
Stateโs premature release of bid proposal info touches off new battle over $116 billion in Medicaid contracts
The early release of documents meant a single competitor got an early look at the other biddersโ playbooks before final winners were announced.
New reporting requirements for life-saving abortions worry some doctors
The proposed guidance from the Texas Medical Board would require doctors to document whether there was time to transfer a patient โby any means availableโ to avoid performing an abortion.
Seattle Childrenโs Hospital wonโt have to provide trans patient records to Texas under new settlement
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suspected the hospital was helping Texas kids access puberty blockers or hormone treatments that are outlawed for juveniles.
Texas is struggling to diversify its mental health workforce as the state becomes less white
More than 40% of the stateโs population is Hispanic, but its mental health provider population is more than 80% white.
Texas families could lose at-home nursing under stricter Medicaid rule
Some children who receive private duty nursing, a more continuous type of medical care in their homes, could lose their ability to live at home if an HHSC rule change goes into effect.


