The latest public education news from The Texas Tribune.
A report out Tuesday from Progress Texas blasts virtual schools for having high dropout rates, high student-teacher ratios and low academic performance — and using state money to fund schools run by for-profit businesses. Full Story
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Endorsements stack up, so we've prepared a big spreadsheet to show you who is getting the political support of some prominent interest groups, trade groups and political action committees. Full Story
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Texas Education Agency chief Robert Scott’s resignation Tuesday didn't come as a huge surprise to the education community. But that doesn't mean speculation about his replacement — and the future of the agency — won't run rampant. Full Story
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At our Hot Seat conversation at Angelo State University, state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, and state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, discussed cuts to public and higher education and other by-products of the 82nd Session. Full Story
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High school degrees may now be considered a bare-minimum qualification for job-seekers, but as Emery Reifsnyder of KUT News reports, a new study of the Austin regional area says high school diplomas are worth millions of dollars to the local economy. Full Story
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Defense lawyers argue that judges in Harris County — ordered to review a psychologist's work in two death penalty cases — are simply rubber-stamping the conclusions of the psychologist, who was reprimanded last year. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, talked about "turning things upside down" in the public education system. Full Story
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State Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, is launching a website to try to kickstart discussion on what will surely be a hot topic in the next legislative session: school accountability. Full Story
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Education Commissioner Robert Scott's successor will have his or her hands full. The job requires a delicate balancing act in regard to state officials and school administrators. So who could get Gov. Rick Perry's nod for the post? Full Story
Aguilar on the House District 77 primary, Batheja on the HD-101 and SD-9 primaries, Galbraith on the GOP candidates for two Railroad Commission slots, Grissom on the latest in the Kerry Max Cook case, Hamilton on Texas A&M's new accountability website, Murphy and M. Smith on how much superintendents make, Ramsey interviews a would-be Democratic Party chair, Root on that nice Ted Nugent, M. Smith on the resignation of the state's education commissioner and Tan on the continuing court fight over Planned Parenthood: The best of our best content from April 30 to May 4, 2012. Full Story
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More energy producers are making "donations" to the Texas Department of Transportation to fix roads torn up by gas well operations. Full Story
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The Texas Association of Business announced today that it has joined a school finance lawsuit against the state, demanding a study of school system efficiency. Full Story
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During the 2011 legislative session, we compiled a salary database of all the state’s highest-paid school administrators: superintendents. After a year and a $5.4 billion reduction in state funding to public education, we are doing it again. Full Story
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Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott is leaving the post Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to in 2007. Full Story
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Full video of my April 26 TribLive conversation with state Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston — the chair and vice chair, respectively, of the House Public Education Committee. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and Vice Chairman Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, disagreed over the theoretical correlation between per-student spending and academic performance. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and Vice Chairman Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, talked about the emphasis on testing in Texas schools. Full Story
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As the State Board of Education prepares to approve new K-12 math standards, it is receiving significant pushback from leaders in Texas' business community, who contend that they're are not up to snuff. Full Story
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The Posse Foundation, which has been lauded by the MacArthur Foundation and President Obama, is preparing to make its first foray into Texas public schools this year. Full Story
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Aaronson maps Medicaid patients' access to pharmacies, Aguilar on Mexicans in exile, Batheja on an unlikely threat to a veteran lawmaker's re-election, Galbraith and Murphy interactively track reservoir levels around the state, Grissom on the ringleaders who rule the state's largest youth lockup, Hamilton on how much Texas professors are paid, Ramsey on who's conservative, Ramshaw and Tan on the latest Planned Parenthood kerfuffle, Root on what Santorum's exit means for the Texas primary, and parts 4 (by M. Smith) and 5 (by Tan and Dehn) of our series on school district closures: The best of our best content from April 9-13, 2012. Full Story
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