Parents of Texas child who died of measles stand by decision to not vaccinate
The measles vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective against the disease, which is highly contagious and can be life threatening. Full Story
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![Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock on Feb. 26, 2025. Covenant has added a patient screening check before entering the children's emergency entrance.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott praises Trump’s efforts to eliminate Education Department at White House
Gov. Greg Abbott dismissed concerns that federal funding and civil rights could be jeopardized by the reduction of the department. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott applauds as he attends the signing of an executive order to shut down the Department of Education by President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria -
95,000 Texas children are waiting for state help to pay for day care
Adding more funding to scholarships is just one way experts say state lawmakers could address Texas’ child care crisis. Full Story
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![Clarissa Alday spends her morning reading to children at Katherine Sage Temple Early Learning Center, on Tuesday February 25, 2025, in Diboll.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz funds ads supporting pro-voucher lawmakers
The ads praise 14 Texas Republicans, including House Speaker Dustin Burrows, for their support of education savings accounts. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks to residents at his bus tour rally in Huntsville on Oct. 8, 2024, finishing his six-city tour campaign for reelection against U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas.]()
Credit: Hope Capwell for The Texas Tribune -
Different pace and priorities separate Texas Senate and House on school vouchers
The gaps over eligibility and on spending levels are narrower than the fundamental differences of the previous session. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, left, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows applaud as Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock gives the biennial State of the Judiciary speech in the Texas House chamber on Feb. 26, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas faculty testify against bills to screen universities’ curriculum for “ideological” bias
Lawmakers say several bills under consideration Thursday would “address the unchecked authority of faculty.” They would expand university governing boards’ oversight powers. Full Story
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![The UT system Board of Regents during a regular meeting in Austin on May 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate advances bill to allow smaller homes on smaller lots
Lawmakers, who are preempting locals on lot sizes in new subdivisions, have been eyeing ways to allow more homes to be built as the state faces a shortage. Full Story
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![The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
Jackpot withheld, $83 million winner “caught in crossfire” amid lottery courier investigations
The winning ticket, purchased online through the courier Jackpocket, is being scrutinized by lawmakers concerned about the legality of third-party services. Full Story
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![Winners Corner TX LLC in Austin, on Feb. 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate passes hemp ban, a Dan Patrick priority
Patrick says the measure will shut down the dangerous THC products business. The House’s proposal would tighten oversight of the industry without a full ban. Full Story
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![A flowering cannabis plant at Texas Original cannabis farm on Sept. 26, 2024.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Amanda Edwards to run to succeed the late-U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner
Edwards unsuccessfully ran for the seat twice last year. She faced off against U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the 2024 Democratic primary. Jackson Lee won the primary but died before the general election, opening the party’s nomination anew Full Story
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![Houston City Councilwoman and U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Edwards outside of 919 Congress Avenue in Austin on Feb. 7, 2020.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas conservatives are using school board elections to exert influence over what students learn
In six Texas districts that used at-large voting systems, ideologically driven groups successfully helped elect school board members who have moved aggressively to ban or remove educational materials that teach children about diversity. Full Story
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![Keller Independent School District’s Board of Trustees listens to public comment during a meeting on Dec. 19. Board members are elected using an at-large voting system that dilutes the power of voters of color, according to a lawsuit.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
Bills seek to improve state’s response to wildfires a year after devastation in Panhandle
A proposal to create a statewide system connecting emergency personnel and agencies is among several bills that target problems exposed in 2024. Full Story
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![Trees marked from the 2024 Smokehouse Creek Fires line the sides of the main roads of Canadian, Texas, Feb. 7, 2025. The Smokehouse Creek Fire is the largest wildfire in Texas history.]()
Credit: Jacob Lujan for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmakers want to give schools more leeway to suspend Texas’ youngest and homeless students
The proposal aims to make working conditions safer for teachers but critics worry it could push the state’s most vulnerable students out of the classroom. Full Story
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![Texas Rep. Jeff Leach delivers opening remarks and answers questions before the Public Education Committee regarding House Bill 6 relating to discipline in public schools in Austin on March 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
After COVID, Texas is less prepared for the next pandemic
Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold. Full Story
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Lawmakers weigh moving bingo operations out of Texas Lottery’s purview amid agency’s uncertain future
A possible reassignment of the charitable games comes as 15 bills in the Legislature seek to either alter or abolish the troubled agency. Full Story
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers seek to transfer University of Houston-Victoria to Texas A&M system
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said Texas A&M is better positioned to grow the Victoria school and serve the region’s petrochemical and agriculture industries. Full Story
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![Students walk to class on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station on Nov. 15, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ first abortion arrests stem from monthlong attorney general investigation
These represent the first criminal charges under Texas’ near-total abortion ban. Full Story
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![A nurse speaks with a patient at a clinic in Houston on Aug. 2, 2013.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
As Trump vows mass deportations, Texas lawmakers want to require sheriffs to work with ICE
Some sheriffs worried that Senate Bill 8 could create an unfunded mandate, while civil rights advocates warned about possible racial profiling. Full Story
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![U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carry out a raid as part of Operation Cross Check in Sherman on June 20, 2019.]()
Credit: Courtesy Charles Reed/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement -
National Republicans target South Texas Democrats for 2026 election
Reps. Cuellar and Gonzalez are moderate Democrats who represent border districts that increasingly vote Republican. Full Story
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![U.S. Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Texas school districts hopeful lawmakers will help plug $1.7 billion gap in special education funding
Proponents say the changes would better serve special education students with widely varying needs — and help schools pay for it. Full Story
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![A classroom at Alfonso Borrego Sr. Elementary School. The school received Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds for new flexible seating, desks, and spaces for students to relax during class in San Elizario, Texas on July 23, 2024]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune
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