public education

Democrats: "Dangerous" Cuts Ahead

By Elise Hu Jan. 10, 2011

Democratic state lawmakers warned Monday of the "dangerous" cuts to public and higher education that are likely as the Legislature prepares to address a massive budget shortfall. Full Story
Misdemeanor Misbehavior?

By Morgan Smith Jan. 9, 2011

The Texas criminal justice system is increasingly the destination for mischief-makers, some as young as 6, in the state’s public schools, according to a new study, which sheds light on what is a rapidly growing part of school budgets: campus security. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Pomp, Circumstance, Consequences

By Brandi Grissom, Reeve Hamilton, Elise Hu, Ross Ramsey, Emily Ramshaw, Morgan Smith, Matt Stiles, Julián Aguilar and Kate Galbraith Jan. 9, 2011

The 82nd Texas Legislature convenes in Austin this week, and while it’s not as much fun as the circus — usually — it’s more important and does have its share of comedy and drama. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
On the Records: The Bills So Far

By Matt Stiles Jan. 6, 2011

A new word cloud visualizes the bills filed so far according to their Texas Legislative Council assigned categories. After education, which accounts for more than a quarter of the bills, the top categories are elections, criminal procedure, vehicles and traffic, and taxation. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Wordle.net
TribBlog: Coalition Urges "Balanced" Budget Approach

By Brandi Grissom Jan. 5, 2011

A wide-ranging coalition of education, criminal justice, religious and charitable groups today called on Texas lawmakers to use more than a machete to balance the state budget this year. Full Story

Credit: Jacob Villanueva
How E-Textbooks Get Made

By Morgan Smith and Justin Dehn Jan. 5, 2011

Electronic textbooks are increasingly touted as an alternative to the more expensive traditional ink-on-paper variety. But how do lessons make the jump from the print to digital? Full Story
Unfunded But Vital?

By Morgan Smith Jan. 4, 2011

Get acquainted with a phrase that will be oft-repeated in the upcoming 82nd Legislature’s brawls over public education: unfunded mandate. To help schools cope with any reduced funding, lawmakers will look to relax state regulations that create costs local school districts bear on their own or with limited help from the state. But will dropping these requirements hurt educational quality? Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman, Brent Hoard/Elizabeth Albert
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Ross Ramsey Dec. 25, 2010

Ramshaw on how hard it is to sue over emergency room mistakes, Galbraith on paying for roads in an era of fuel-efficient vehicles, Aguilar on a disagreement about gun regulation, my interview with tort reformer Dick Trabulsi, Grissom on Perry's parsimonious pardoning, Hu and Chang interactively look at House committee chairs, M. Smith on an election challenge and who'll settle it, Ramshaw and Stiles on Dallas County's blue streak and Hamilton on a Valley school district that leads the nation in preparing kids for college: The best of our best from Dec. 20 to 24, 2010. Full Story
Kid's College

By Reeve Hamilton Dec. 24, 2010

In the 1980s, when the state’s education accountability systems were first put into place, Hidalgo’s high school was ranked among the bottom 10 percent of all schools in academic performance. Today, its students graduate at higher rates than the state average, and 98 percent complete a recommended or distinguished curriculum — all thanks to an unprecedented level of collaboration between local leaders in public and higher education that has permeated Hidalgo for the last five years and is taking hold elsewhere in the Rio Grande Valley, providing new opportunities in some of the country’s poorest counties. Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Evan Smith Dec. 18, 2010

Ramsey on what a GOP supermajority means, Ramshaw on a crime victim not eligible for crime victims' compensation, M. Smith on grave matters and state regulation, Hamilton on the college pipeline at San Antonio's Jefferson High, Hu on a senator's anticlimactic return, Grissom on the coming closure of juvenile lockups, Aguilar on the return of residents to their drug-war-torn Mexican town, Galbraith on next session's energy agenda, Philpott on the legal fight over federal health care reform and Stiles on the travel expenses of House members: The best of our best from Dec. 13 to 17, 2010. Full Story
Free Advice

By Reeve Hamilton Dec. 16, 2010

The interim principal of San Antonio's Thomas Jefferson High believes that the current juniors will be the school’s first with a 100 percent graduation rate and that many will go on to respected universities. One key factor: Allison Najera, a 2010 University of Texas graduate placed at Jefferson through a new program: the Texas College Advising Corps. Full Story

Credit: Reeve Hamilton
Parents Help School Officials Cut Budget

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Dec. 10, 2010

The Austin Independent School District says it will need to cut tens of millions of dollars from its budget over the next several years — and it wants local parents to help figure out where to start the trimming. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
TribBlog: New Efficiency Rankings for Public Ed

By Morgan Smith Dec. 8, 2010

Even as Texas schools face budget cuts, their spending per student is on the rise, according to a new report from Comptroller Susan Combs that rates district expenditures against student achievement. Full Story

Credit: Jacob Villanueva
School's Out

By Morgan Smith Dec. 8, 2010

The budget shortfall — estimated to be as much as $28 billion — will require the Legislature to take a paring knife and possibly a machete to government agencies and programs. The largest single consumer of state dollars is public education, so it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which funding for teacher salaries, curricular materials and the like isn’t on the chopping block, especially if lawmakers want to make good on their promises of no new taxes. But where is that money going to come from? Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Evan Smith Dec. 4, 2010

M. Smith and Butrymowicz of the Hechinger Institute on charter schools and public schools making nice in the Valley, Ramsey's interview with House Speaker candidate Ken Paxton and column on the coming budget carnage, Hu on the Legislature's disappearing white Democratic women, Grissom on the sheriff who busted Willie Nelson, Hamilton talks higher ed accountability with the chair of the Governor's Business Council, Aguilar on the arrest of a cartel kingpin, Ramshaw on the explosive growth in the number of adult Texans with diabetes, Philpott on state incentive funding under fire and Galbraith on the greening of Houston: The best of our best from November 29 to December 3, 2010. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
The Efficiency Experts

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Dec. 3, 2010

"Efficiency" is the buzzword heading into the 2011 legislative session. Lawmakers say they want to make sure the dollars spent on K-12 education are being spent as efficiently as possible — and that anything deemed inefficient could end up the chopping block. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
Saved by the Bell

By Morgan Smith, The Texas Tribune, and Sarah Butrymowicz, The Hechinger Report Dec. 3, 2010

Public schools have long had a strained relationship with their charter cousins, which battle them for students and money and boast loudly about their relative success. But in the Rio Grande Valley, a federal grant has the largest public school district partnering with Teach For America and a network of charter schools to create a teacher training center with hopes of luring quality educators to one of Texas' most poverty stricken regions — and keeping them there. In the process, the competitive tension is being replaced by a spirit of constructive collaboration. Full Story

Credit: Joel Martinez
The Efficiency Experts

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Dec. 3, 2010

"Efficiency" is the buzzword heading into the 2011 legislative session. Lawmakers say they want to make sure the dollars spent on K-12 education are being spent as efficiently as possible — and that anything deemed inefficient could end up the chopping block. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
TribBlog: Game On ... for Now

By Julián Aguilar Nov. 30, 2010

Unregistered high school umpires will keep their stripes on, for now. A U.S. district judge granted an injunction today requested by the Texas Association of Sport Officials, halting a University Interscholastic League mandate that all high school sports officials register with the agency. Some officials were refusing to register, risking a lockout. Full Story

Credit: Tom Pennington
There Will Be Blood

By Ross Ramsey Nov. 29, 2010

Ask House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, and he'll tell you: The budget he and his fellow finance types will put forward in a few weeks confirms fears that carnage is looming. "We're making huge cuts," he told a Tea Party group last week. Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich