$8.5 billion school funding package passes Texas Senate
The legislation includes new pots of money for teacher raises and other school costs like insurance and transportation. It now heads to the House, where leaders say it will pass. Full Story
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![After out loud reading time, Dana Altamirano discusses the book they just read as a group with her fourth grade students at West Avenue Elementary in Waco on April 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Greta Díaz González Vázquez/The Texas Tribune -
Senators soften student discipline bill, giving Texas schools more flexibility
The Texas Senate had previously proposed more severe consequences in the bill. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School students gather in the hallway outside of a classroom as they wait for a teacher between periods Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
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Texas may require medical records list patients’ sex assigned at birth
The bill, which is poised to become law, creates up to a $250,000 fine for medical professionals who change a patients’ listed sex outside of certain exemptions. Full Story
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![Various identity and quote pins sit in a tray in the Center for Women's & Gender Studies on Feb. 19, 2024.]()
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Retailers say Texas’ “devastating” THC ban will force them to close shop
Some hemp retailers are looking at other states, while others say they are ready to take Texas to court over a THC ban. Full Story
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![Products line the shelves of the newly restocked De Vega CBD Relief vending machine in Leander on Nov. 1, 2022.]()
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It’s “Texas Time”: Legislature OKs permanent daylight saving time, but Congress must also act
Federal action would be needed to make the change legal. Lawmakers at both the state and federal levels have debated the question for decades. Full Story
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![Sunrise over the historic Alamo in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Classroom violence went up in Texas after the pandemic. Is more discipline the answer?
Texas lawmakers are poised to make it easier to suspend disruptive students. But some teachers and school psychologists say discipline alone won’t meet the mental health needs at the root of their behavior. Full Story
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![Public educator Nadene Casteel at Heritage Rose Elementary School on Monday, May 19, 2025, in Ft. Bend County.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
More Texas children are getting vaccinated early against measles
Fear of babies contracting the contagious and potentially deadly virus has spurred the surge in vaccinations amid Texas’ historic measles outbreak. Full Story
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![Dr. Ana Montanez holds a box containing vials of the MMR vaccine in Lubbock, Texas, on March 6, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Annie Rice -
As measles outbreak continues, new parents in Lubbock face unexpected fears
Many of the patients are being treated in Lubbock, a medical hub for the South Plains where the outbreak originated. Full Story
![Kelly Johnson hold her six-week-old son, John, as seen Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Lubbock. “Normal things that are hard [in postpartum], are hard,” Johnson says, “but been having that plus keeping an eye out on a measles outbreak.”](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/URU0s5SYuUzlKPR3CYUInbQOqnI=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ccd4cfbf039229af889cd7031bb70f6c/0409%20Measles%20New%20Parents%20AR%20TT%2009.jpg)
![Kelly Johnson hold her six-week-old son, John, as seen Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Lubbock. “Normal things that are hard [in postpartum], are hard,” Johnson says, “but been having that plus keeping an eye out on a measles outbreak.”]()
Credit: Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature on verge of completely banning THC products after key House vote
The House approved the ban after previously considering proposals to preserve the industry by tightening regulations. Full Story
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![Products containing THC sit at a store in Austin, Texas on May 5, 2025.]()
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Bill to teach Texas kids the dangers of communism — but not fascism — clears the Legislature
The bill won bipartisan support despite efforts from multiple Democrats that would have also required students to learn about fascism and Nazism. Full Story
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![The United States flag flies at the Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Water bills face deadline threat as Texas lawmakers negotiate spending priorities
Gov. Greg Abbott and other leaders have called for a major investment to save the state’s water supply. How to spend the money has caused friction at the Capitol. Full Story
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![Workers conduct maintenance on the Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Plant El Paso, Texas on March 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House, Senate lawmakers reach $8.5 billion school funding deal
The deal appears to strike a face-saving compromise for both chambers over how to increase funds for the state’s public schools, with money earmarked for teacher pay and overhead costs. Full Story
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![Bonham Elementary School in San Antonio on May 9, 2018.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
In El Paso, measles is infecting more adults than children
Adults who are unsure whether they’re vaccinated can get additional shots, health experts say. Full Story
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![Shoppers on the sidewalk near downtown El Paso on Jan. 15, 2019]()
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Major energy consumers will face new limits if Texas House approves proposal
The legislation would give ERCOT the ability to turn off power to major consumers in an emergency. Full Story
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![Construction workers build a portable building that will be used to house computers cooled by immersion technology on Oct. 22, 2021.]()
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Federal trial opens to determine whether Texas discriminated in redrawn redistricting maps
The trial in El Paso will hear a challenge over the redistricting maps drawn by the Legislature that are based on the 2020 census. Full Story
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![Salman Bhojani, a former candidate for Texas Senate District 9, shows where he lives on an updated map that now draws him out of District 9 and now into District 2, at his offices in Irving, on Oct. 17, 2021. Bhojani suspended his campaign after state legislature adopted new district maps which draws Bhojani's home out of District 9.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature clarifies when doctors can perform life-saving abortions
The bill does not expand abortion access, but further explains when a doctor can intervene to save a pregnant patient’s life. Full Story
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![A few pieces of medical equipment are all that remain to be packed up inside the Alamo Women's Reproductive Service's Clinic in San Antonio on July 29, 2022. The clinic is closing its doors and moving to Carbondale, Illinois and Albuquerque, New Mexico to provide services there.]()
Credit: Alejandra Sol Casas for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature moves to build Texas Life Memorial on Capitol grounds
Approval of the monument comes as the lower chamber prepares to debate the “Life of the Mother Act” bill later this week. Full Story
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![A rendering of the National Life Monument, which will be installed facing the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. Replicas are planned for all 50 states.]()
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Vacant offices, strip malls may get new life as housing in Texas’ largest cities
The bill is part of a suite of GOP proposals aimed at curbing the state’s high housing costs — chiefly by allowing more homes to be built. Full Story
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![Empty real estate in downtown Brownwood on Sep 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Another big tax cut for Texas homeowners appears imminent
Providing bigger tax breaks to homeowners is a key component of a deal brokered by Republicans in the Texas Legislature to lower tax bills for Texans. Full Story
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![A farmhouse on U.S. Highway 190 in Milam Co. on March 16, 2025.]()
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Democratic Rep. Vikki Goodwin announces run for lieutenant governor
As the field takes shape for the 2026 campaign, the Republican incumbent, Dan Patrick, starts with a large financial advantage. Full Story
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![State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, speaks at a press conference outside the Texas Capitol on April 22, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune