The latest public education news from The Texas Tribune.
Texas school districts saw their budgets slashed dramatically this year, leaving many to try to raise taxes through elections. But as Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, only about a dozen of the state's 1,000-plus districts are considering the tax option. Full Story
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DAY 1 of our 31-day series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Thousands of Texas teachers will not have jobs to return to in the fall, the result of a school finance plan that cut $4 billion from districts statewide. Full Story
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Aaronson examines the Texas jobs "miracle," Root on how Rick Perry built his financial portfolio, Tan and Wiseman on Perry vs. Ron Paul, Philpott on how budget cuts will affect a mental health provider, yours truly on a House freshman who was less than impressed with his first legislative experience, M. Smith on public schools charging for things that used to be free, Hamilton on a new call to reinvent higher education, Grissom on a rare stay of execution, Galbraith on the end of a Panhandle wind program, Aguilar on the increase of legal immigration into the U.S. and Texas: The best of our best content from July 25 to 29, 2011. Full Story
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After changing its formula, the Texas Education Agency has released the 2011 accountability ratings for the state's 1,228 districts. Search our ratings database and compare how your school fared this year compared to last. Full Story
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The new accountability ratings released Friday for public school campuses in the state's 1,228 districts and charter schools are markedly lower from the ratings given last year. Full Story
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A new standardized testing system will replace the TAKS exam this year, and as Kelsey Sheridan of KUT News reports, the switch to more difficult tests comes as schools are already grappling with reduced budgets. Full Story
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As cash-strapped public schools attempt to squeeze every possible dollar out of their budgets, an unpleasant reality awaits parents: They will most likely have to pay for programs and services that schools once provided for free. Full Story
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This will be the first year school accountability ratings will not contain a mechanism that, for some schools, had boosted their scores and led to higher ratings. Now they'll have to explain to parents what the change means for their kids. Full Story
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After battle appeared to be brewing between the state education board's left and right factions on contested language on evolution in one publisher's biology lessons, members found a compromise: Let the education commissioner decide. Full Story
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Supporters say the new chairwoman of the State Board of Education is a mild-tempered, fair leader who is well suited to oversee the fractious board. Her critics say she is a culture warrior who injects her religious and political agenda into classrooms. Full Story
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Almost 55 percent of recent Texas public school students were suspended at least once between their seventh and 12th grade years, according to a statewide report released today. Full Story
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It took a series of often rancorous debates this session to reach agreement on how to finance public education for 2012-2013. Use the Trib's latest interactive to track what lawmakers said about Texas education. Full Story
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For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked what state issues will get national play if Gov. Rick Perry runs for president, how his record will be used for and against him and whether all the attention might affect races here. Full Story
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The Trib captured every debate, tirade and joke uttered into the mikes in the House and Senate during the 82nd legislative session in our online transcripts. Our latest data apps help you identify when important debates occurred by visualizing the frequency of keywords. Full Story
There's a day in July that school districts eye with a mixture of anticipation and dread. This year, it's on the 29th, when the Texas Education Agency will publicly release the accountability ratings for the state's more than 1,000 districts. Full Story
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This week, Secretary of State Hope Andrade conducted a lottery that determined the order of the 10 new proposals on the November ballot. Each amendment already won approval from two-thirds of the House and Senate and now needs a nod from a majority of the voters. Here's the rundown... Full Story
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Even as it is coping with deep reductions to its own budget, the Texas Education Agency faces criticism from school districts and lawmakers, although not necessarily for the same reasons — vivid evidence of the pressure on the TEA. Full Story
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The most drastic change for many students will come in the spring, when approximately 350,000 new ninth graders will be the first to take the end-of-course exams that are part of the new standardized testing system known as STAAR. Full Story
A week has passed since school districts bracing for the worst at last got what they've been waiting for throughout the legislative session: finality. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry has named former science teacher and staunch social conservative Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, to chair the board that oversees the state's public school system. Full Story