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  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    Thevenot on the non-stop wonder that is the State Board of Education and its latest efforts to set curriculum standards, E. Smith's post-election sit-down interview with Bill White at TribLive made some news and got the November pugilism started, Ramshaw on whether it makes sense for the state to call patients and remind them to take their pills, and on the state's botched attempt to save baby blood samples for medical research, Hamilton's interview with Steve Murdock on the state's demographic destiny, M. Smith on whooping cranes, fresh water, and an effort to use the endangered species act to protect them both, Grissom on potties, pickups, and other equipment purchased with federal homeland security money and Stiles' latest data and map on where that money went, Aguilar on the "voluntary fasting" protesting conditions and treatment at an immigrant detention facility, Kreighbaum on football, the new sport at UTSA, and Philpott on Rick Perry and Bill White retooling their appeals for the general election. The best of our best from March 8 to 12, 2010. Full Story 

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  • "We're Outnumbered"

    by Brian Thevenot

    At Thursday's State Board of Education meeting, as conservatives had their way with social studies standards, voting to limit the discussion of race and gender issues and to challenge the notion of separation of church and state, Democratic members were left to sulk and seethe — and walk out. Full Story 

    Barbara Cargill
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • The SBOE Gets Medieval

    by Brian Thevenot

    When State Board of Education members ventured into world history curriculum at Wednesday's meeting, they carried their modern-day political agendas with them. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • TribBlog: History Hearings Off to Hot Start

    by Brian Thevenot

    Public testimony on the state's social studies curriculum has started here State Board of Education meeting. It's easy to tell from the banks of cameras and scribes, college students with bright yellow "Save Our History" t-shirts on and people from civil rights and conservative groups itching to testify. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • The Revision Thing

    by Brian Thevenot and Niran Babalola

    Two months after their controversial meetings about proposed changes to the social studies curriculum, State Board of Education members meet today to resume their deliberations. To help you follow along as the SBOE's ideological blocs scrap over a flood of amendments, we've produced this annotated version of the high school history standards. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • 2010: White Starts the Argument [Updated]

    by Ross Ramsey

    Democrat Bill White said he won't rely on "Soviet-style budgeting" and "hot air politics" if he's elected governor, and said the state should make education its first priority and would be better off with a governor who's got business experience when it comes to economic development. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • The SBOE, Revised

    by Abby Rapoport

    The State Board of Education likely won't be quite as much of a Christian Conservative flash point any more. What it will be, however, is anybody’s guess. Full Story 

    Don McLeroy, a member of the Texas State Board of Education, at the Texas Tribune offices in October.
    Credit: Elise Hu

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    Ramshaw on the state's quiet sharing of infant blood samples with the military and on the things Rick Perry's opponents aren't saying about him, Grissom on Farouk Shami's surprising popularity in El Paso, Philpott on the political advantages of a job creation fund and how Debra Medina's supporters are reacting to her "truther" comments, Hu on Debra Medina in the latest installment of Stump Interrupted, Thevenot on how the kids feel about the federal option of closing bad high schools, Rapoport on the newest mutation of the state's pay-as-you-go transportation philosophy, and our roundup of party primaries in the last week before the election: Rapoport on HD-7, Ramsey on HD-11, Aguilar on HD-36 and HD-43, Philpott on HD-47, Thevenot on HD-52 and SD-5, Kreighbaum on HD-105 and one Supreme Court race, M. Smith on another, and Hamilton on the colorful Democratic candidates for Agriculture Commissioner. The best of our best from February 22 to 26, 2010. Full Story 

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  • Talking Back to the Feds

    by Brian Thevenot

    "Teachers should be chasing us around," the Texas high school senior told the official from the U.S. Department of Education. "We shouldn't be chasing them. But that doesn't always happen here." Full Story 

    Students Arturo Garcia and Chris Conway listen to a U.S. Department of Education representative describe a grant program tar…
    Credit: Brian Thevenot

  • The Old College Try

    by Brian Thevenot

    Since 1999, the number of "dual-credit" students — those who take college courses while still in high school — across Texas has ballooned from fewer than 12,000 to more than 91,000. It's a trend that's likely to continue as state and local policymakers search for ways to better align curricula and to push more kids to continue their education. “Schools have started to look at it as great for kids who might not have thought they were college material,” says an official at the Higher Education Coordinating Board. “It’s both a gifted-and-talented program and a college-accessibility program.” Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • The Firing Line

    by Brian Thevenot

    After years of fiddling with merit-pay schemes, the Houston ISD is tying student test scores to the decision to ax teachers. Not surprisingly, the move — on the cutting edge of reforms nationally — has teachers howling in protest. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva