Schools Cope as Classes Expand and Staffs Shrink
As state spending contracted in the 2011-12 school year, classroom sizes ballooned. And the fastest-growing school districts have been hit the hardest by larger classes. Full Story
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![Alex Train's first grade classroom only had 22 students at the beginning of the year, but has added two more since at Wanke Elementary School in north San Antonio, Friday, March 9, 2012.]()
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Weekend Insider: Class Sizes, Groundwater Limits
In this episode of the Texas Tribune Weekend Insider, we look at growing elementary class sizes and limits on groundwater use in West Texas. Full Story
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Video: Arne Duncan Town Hall Meeting
Full video of Thursday's town hall meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the campus of Austin Community College. Full Story
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Perry Meets With Leader of Agency He Wants to Abolish
After U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan praised Texas' in-state tuition policy for illegal immigrants, he and Gov. Rick Perry met to discuss a possible waiver for the No Child Left Behind Act. Full Story
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Interactive: 25,000 Fewer Public School Employees
Public schools in Texas employ about 25,000 less employees than they did at this time last year. Use this interactive to see what happened in your school district. Full Story
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DPS Renews Warning Against Spring Break Trips to Mexico
UPDATED: The Texas Department of Public Safety today renewed a warning that cautions Texas students against traveling to Mexico. The break begins next week for most of the state’s schools. Full Story
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![National pride was in abundance at the Mexican independence day festival at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin, Texas. The holiday celebrates Mexico's war of independence from Spain in 1810.]()
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David Leebron: The TT Interview
The president of Rice University on the declining reputation of higher education, the difference between public and private universities, and the future of academic research. Full Story
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As iPads Appear in Schools, Classroom Effects Unknown
In many Texas school districts, teachers are turning to iPads to help with classroom education. But as Carlos Morales of KUT News and ReportingTexas.com reports, educators are still trying to determine how best to use the technology. Full Story
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![Blackwell middle school students study on their iPads, which all students receive starting in seventh grade.]()
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The Hot Seat: A Conversation with Estes and Crownover
At our Hot Seat conversation at the University of North Texas in Denton on 2/28, state Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, and state Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Lake Dallas, discussed cuts to public and higher education and other by-products of the 82nd Session. Full Story
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Sam Houston State Sees Graduation Rates Rise, Credits Advising Center
Sam Houston State University administrators credit a nationally recognized advising center for moving their graduation rates in the right direction. Full Story
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Texas Southern University Works to Lift Graduation Rate Up From Bottom
Texas Southern University has the state's lowest graduation rate, but TSU President John Rudley says that steps are being taken to put the university on the right track. Full Story
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For UTEP President, Low Graduation Rates Don’t Tell Whole Story
UTEP's graduation rates are among the worst in the state, but President Diana Natalicio is adamant that the metric doesn't accurately reflect the institution. Full Story
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At Public Universities, Graduation Rates Lag. But Do They Matter?
The four-year graduation rates at Texas' public universities are staggeringly low. State officials acknowledge the numbers are dismal and are working to improve them. But not all higher ed leaders buy into the notion that such metrics matter. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Spencer Selvidge / Ben Hasson / Todd Wiseman -
Activists Plan Revival of 2011 Education Protests
Last March, 13,000 protesters met in Austin to protest cuts to public education in what organizers called one of the biggest Capitol rallies in state history. This month, as Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, the same group of activists, Save Texas Schools, plans to do it again. Full Story
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Texas Lawmakers to Study School Finance
As more than 500 school districts sue the state over how it funds its public schools, Texas lawmakers announced today they would form an interim committee to study school finance. Full Story
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![Young boy protests school budget cuts during the Texas American Federation of Teachers rally at the Capitol. March 14th, 2011.]()
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An Updated Guide to the School Finance Lawsuits
The latest school finance lawsuit following the state's $5.4 billion cut to public schools suggests that schools need more competition. Full Story
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In Fifth School Finance Suit, A Focus on Efficiency
A group of parents in Texas filed the fifth school finance lawsuit in Austin today, focusing not on whether the state adequately pays for schools but rather if the way it distributes money is efficient and equitable. Full Story
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UT/TT Poll: Texans Split on Re-electing Perry
Gov. Rick Perry told us on Tuesday that he may run for re-election. Voters aren't sold, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson interactively charts the legal wrangling between Texas and the feds, Aguilar on what Obama's budget means for the border, Galbraith on congressional ambivalence about a wind tax credit, Grissom on cuts to crime victims services, Hamilton on UT-Austin's plan to boost graduation rates, Ramsey on our woefully low voter turnout, Ramshaw on a new Super PAC targeting incumbents of both parties, Root on conservative opposition to the Keystone pipeline and M. Smith on cash-starved school districts in the advertising game: The best of our best content from February 13-17, 2012. Full Story
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Texas Education Agency Delays STAAR's 15 Percent Rule
Education Commissioner Robert Scott said today that he will postpone for a year a controversial requirement that new exams count for 15 percent of students' final grades. Full Story
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