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The latest public education news from The Texas Tribune.

  • Special Needs

    By Kate Ergenbright

    After a decade in which Texas has seen a 400 percent increase in the number of children with autism, lawmakers are wrestling with how best to educate the afflicted — and how to pay for it. Full Story 

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    Credit: Justin Dehn

  • Autism in Texas Schools: Ben's Story

    By Elise Hu

    Central Texas parent Charity Smith Bartell discusses the challenges her autistic son faces in the Texas public school system. Unsatisfied with Ben’s progress in the classroom, Bartell has invested her own time and money into tutoring him at home to meet his complex educational needs. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Testing the Texas Projection Measure

    By Brian Thevenot

    The Texas Education agency plans to release school accountability ratings for every campus in the state on Friday. For the second year, the rankings will be filtered through the controversial Texas Projection Measure, which critics fault for inflating the school scores. Full Story 

    Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott in March, 2010.
    Credit: Justin Dehn

  • TribBlog: The 51st State

    How can Texas rank last in the nation — 51st — in the percentage of adults with high school diplomas, and simultaneously rank 22nd in the percentage attending at least some college? Full Story 

    Brookings Institute Mapped Educational attainment nationwide. Texas ranks last — 51st — in the percentage of adults with high school diploma, largely due to rapid immigration growth. The state ranks significantly higher on college attainment.
    Credit: Brookings Institute

  • TribBlog: In Reversal, SBOE Passes Charter Financing [Updated]

    By Elizabeth Titus

    After getting shot down in committee, SBOE member David Bradley, R-Beaumont, and other members succeeded Friday in pushing through a plan to purchase school buildings and lease them back to charter schools in a split vote, with two Democrats absent. The decision, however, is contingent upon a favorable attorney general's opinion on the legality of the controversial move — which would pull money from the Permanent School Fund. Full Story 

    Cynthia Dunbar and Don McLeroy
    Credit: Jacqueline Mermea

  • Texas Schools Have a Math Problem

    By Matt Largey, KUT News

    A new study suggests that while the state's English curriculum is among the best in the nation, our math curriculum doesn't measure up to a set of new national standards. Matt Largey of KUT News reports. Full Story 

  • Unchartered Waters

    By Elizabeth Titus

    Lawyers for the State Board of Education advised members Wednesday to proceed cautiously with a proposal to invest $100 million of the Permanent School Fund in facilities that would be leased to charter schools. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribBlog: Merit Pay and the "Black Box"

    By Elizabeth Titus

    In the latest clash between the Houston Independent School District and those who question its use of "value-added data" to grade and sometimes fire teachers, state Sen. Mario Gallegos Jr., D-Houston, grilled an HSID representative at Tuesday's Senate Education Committee hearing over what he decried as a transparency issue for the district. Full Story 

    State Sen. Mario Gallegos, Jr., D-Houston, gestures at the Senate Committee on Education on July 20, 2010.
    Credit: Spencer Selvidge

  • TribBlog: Not Cool With School

    By Forrest Burnson

    Texans overwhelmingly reject the way the State Board of Education sets requirements for textbooks and curriculum, which ignited a nationwide controversy earlier this year, according to a statewide survey the Texas Freedom Network released today. Full Story 

    An observer holds a protest sign during testimony at the State Board of Education (SBOE) textbook hearings on Wednesday, May 19, 2010.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • State Board of Landlords?

    By Brian Thevenot

    Hoping to tackle the long-standing challenge of financing charter school facilities, the State Board of Education is considering taking on a novel and controversial role: landlord. SBOE member David Bradley, R-Beaumont, wants to use $100 million from the $23 billion Permanent School Fund to buy properties and then lease them back to charter schools, which have historically struggled with capital costs. Critics say the elected board can't possibly fulfill the mandate of the Fund — to invest for maximum return — while at the same time cutting charters a good deal. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    M. Smith's interview with the new chair of the Texas GOP, Philpott on Republicans and Tea Partiers living in harmony, Aguilar on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's not-yet-released strategic plan, Ramshaw's tragic tale of out-of-state kids in Texas treatment centers, Grissom on how budget cuts could impact juvenile justice, Stiles' awesome new population app, Galbraith on the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, Hamilton's interview with the commissioner of higher education and the debut of Hu's new video debate series: The best of our best from June 14 to 19, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • Scott McCown vs. Talmadge Heflin

    By Elise Hu

    The executive director of the progressive Center for Public Policy Priorities and the director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, debate the best way to dig out of Texas' multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall. Full Story 

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