Public education

A Texas Education Agency plan requires school districts to find and serve the large number of students who may have been left out of special education for years. School administrators say they're at a loss for how to pay for that with no requisite increase in state funding.

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Kids and parents and teachers have spent the week struggling through another round of standardized testing in Texas public schools. Voters hate it, so politicians hate it. But the test results are a key ingredient of the state's education policy.

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Texas school districts hit hard by Hurricane Harvey may not have to worry as much about how well their students fare in this year's State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced Wednesday at a meeting of the State Board of Education.

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National exam results show Texas and the nation stagnating in academic achievement for elementary and middle school students. Experts have different takes on what state education officials should do to fix it.

 

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After years of debate, the State Board of Education voted preliminarily to create curriculum standards for a Mexican-American studies class. But thanks to the objections of one member, it'll now be called “Ethnic Studies: An Overview of Americans of Mexican Descent.”  

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Students across Texas are taking state standardized tests this week. Take some of the tests' most difficult questions to see if you'd pass.

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Two years after software problems rendered results on the statewide STAAR exam unusable, students taking the test Tuesday reported more technical problems.

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The court found that the woman who sued didn't prove that the female coworker who harassed her was gay, so it's not clear that the incident constituted "sexually motivated touching."

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Texas state law says that teachers could lose their teaching certificates and pensions if they go on strike. 

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Record enrollment is putting a strain on the already low-performing Ector County Independent School District. In Odessa, school administrators and teachers are parents are asking: Where are we going to put all of these kids?

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Texas A&M University professor Lori Taylor stunned Kansas lawmakers by recommending they increase their school funding by 44 percent. But what does that mean for Texas?

 

 

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The report warned educators and policy leaders of the risks that in-school suspensions continue to have on pre-K to second-grade students in Texas public schools. 

 

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Federal officials gave final approval to a Texas plan for school improvement, which includes portions of the new system for grading schools on a scale from A to F. Texas education officials say it's not too late for the public to weigh in on the A-F system.

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State officials are warning school officials, in effect, not to turn into political organizers. That means educators shouldn't be telling students how to vote, but it sounds like some state officials don't even want educators helping students to become voters.

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Texas is among several states that will bar teachers, dentists, nurses and other professional license holders from renewing their licenses if they are in default on their student loans. Critics say the practice is counterproductive, since it impedes Texans’ ability to work and pay back those loans.

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After conversations with parents and advocates, the Texas Education Agency on Monday released a second draft of its plan for overhauling the way it educates students with disabilities — while highlighting the agency's limitations on available funds.

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Education advocates and some officials who have received cease-and-desist letters and open records requests from the state's top lawyer say the actions are politically motivated. 

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As Texas' school finance commission is set to hold its next hearing, some members and policy experts are arguing the hearings seem set toward a predetermined outcome — making schools do more with the funding they have.

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As a national debate swirls after the mass shooting in Florida, students across the nation join National School Walkout Day. With most Texas students on spring break, some did their walkouts last week.

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Political candidates wanting a major boost from a public education voting bloc last week saw their hopes fall when teachers did not show up to the polls in the numbers they had expected. But educator voting advocates argue their political strength is only growing.

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