High schoolers’ overdose deaths leave a Central Texas town grappling with the opioid crisis
The deaths at Hays Consolidated Independent School District have sparked heartbreak, anger and calls for action. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/02d8466b616ed03a1030061a38696d8a/FentanylPoster.JPG)
-
![At Lehman High School in Kyle, Texas, a poster warns about the dangers of fentanyl. Four students in the Hays Consolidated Independent School District, south of Austin, died from fentanyl overdoses in July and August.]()
Credit: Colleen DeGuzman/KHN -
Texas Republicans against “critical race theory” win seats on the State Board of Education, strengthening its GOP majority
The board is responsible for dictating what Texas’ 5.5 million students are required to learn in the state’s public schools. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f5e3e1f81877a6d3423c6fd75b9777d0/Linder%20Elementary%20ML%20TT%2028.jpg)
![Linder Elementary School second grade students participate in Rosa Ramirez's class. They are studying the life of Martin Luther King Jr., and the significance of the upcoming holiday.]()
Credit: Miranda Lipton for The Texas Tribune -
State Sen. Dawn Buckingham wins bid to manage the Alamo, disaster relief funds and more as Texas’ next land commissioner
The land commissioner manages public land, enforces mineral rights leases, controls the Texas Permanent School Fund, distributes natural disaster relief funding and is responsible for the Alamo. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4b0589995d16cedd530e65e87847e5a7/Dawn%20Buckingham%20BD%20TT%2002.jpg)
![State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas votes: Abortion, border security and marijuana energize voters on Election Day
Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday with a wide variety of issues on their minds, including the state’s grid and the Uvalde shooting. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c4afc043a333d9ede2a8b7abe5d55032/Election%20Day%20Voting%20EG%20TT%2001%20.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Rural Texas is the state’s foundation. And it’s in jeopardy.
Downtowns are deserted, hospitals are closing, teachers are leaving. Every part of life in rural Texas is harder — but it’s worth saving. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/69a55fec929e0e4e8e5cb4c7aec818d5/Del%20Leon%20Rural%20File%20EL%20TT%2016.jpg)
![Vehicles pass through Dublin in Central Texas on March 25, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Panic buttons, automatic locks and bulletproof windows top the proposed safety rules after Uvalde shooting
These proposed requirements could take effect this school year after the Texas Education Agency takes public comment into consideration. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a58367ce1416645066aec68de6e452a8/0906%20First%20Day%20of%20School%20S2%20EL%2024-3.jpg)
![Two DPS officers test classroom doors and patrol the campus at Dalton Elementary School on the first day of school in Uvalde on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
In wake of the Uvalde shooting, hoax active-shooter calls keep parents and police on edge
An increase in fake active-shooter reports since the beginning of the school year has intensified parents’ anxieties and required an additional law enforcement response. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/526aa1aceaee283839c469f45a85865b/Akins%20High%20School%20RR%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Law enforcement officers patrol outside the library of Akins Early College High School in Austin on Sept. 15, 2022. The school was put on "hold" — a step below a lockdown — after a threat on social media was reported.]()
Credit: Roberto Ramirez for The Texas Tribune -
“I’m so scared”: 911 recordings reveal fear and urgency of those trapped in Uvalde elementary school
Audio obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica shows just how long police and dispatchers likely knew that children and teachers were in danger before taking action at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f3654022cd6270781601bd8734990602/20221101%20uvalde%20911.jpg)
![At 12:33 p.m. May 24, exactly an hour after the gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a group of unidentified police officers began advancing toward the classrooms where he had trapped more than 30 students and teachers. But after one officer said “no, no, no,” they stopped. That moment exemplified the overall failed law enforcement response.]()
Credit: State trooper body camera footage obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
A national bus driver shortage is upending Texas’ beloved Friday night high school football games
School leaders are offering more money and paid training for potential bus drivers. Some routes still go unserved. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Helmets-5.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Tom Pennington -
Paxton, Cornyn and Cruz prod U.S. Supreme Court to end affirmative action in college admissions
The high court heard oral arguments Monday in two cases brought by a group led by the same man who previously lost an affirmative action case against the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9d57d518ac22e16b8b49c2d908113e82/SCOTUS%20Nov%201%20EL%2008%20TT.jpg)
![Barriers surrounded the Supreme Court ahead of planned demonstrations regarding abortion in Texas in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Why all eyes are now on the often ignored Texas Board of Education races
All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and one race in District 7 highlights how critical race theory has become a key issue. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e961dec7e52eb7cc54c729ecda91531a/13_State_Board_of_Education_EW.jpg)
![The State Board of Education meeting on January 29, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Texas students’ math scores saw a sharp decline during pandemic
State math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress dipped significantly between 2019 and 2022, but reading scores for fourth and eighth graders held steady. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e717625b6ffda63abda9016bd3266642/Boyett%20AC%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Plexiglass and six feet of distance between each desk keep students socially distant in Abigail Boyett's third grade classroom.]()
Credit: Alejandra Casas for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: New journalism fellowship for HBCU students
Fellowships will be available in spring, summer and fall for Texas graduate and undergraduate students at historically Black colleges and universities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/904b273d14ea7e07866f09fa3859b7c3/HBCU%20TSquared%20TT%2003.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Uvalde schools get $442,000 from John Cornyn’s federal gun safety law
The gun safety law allocates $100 million for a Department of Justice grant program for school districts to invest in safety programs and technology. Twenty-eight Texas school districts were awarded grants through the program, totaling almost $8 million. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ad6454c1f63aa314acc38fb6e476977f/0906%20First%20Day%20of%20School%20S2%20EL%2020.jpg)
![A DPS police vehicle sits outside of Dalton Elementary School as students wait outside their classroom on the first day of school in Uvalde on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
What you need to know about the county and school district seats on your Nov. 8 ballot
Texans will be choosing more than a governor and members of Congress in the midterm elections. Here’s a look at what the officials elected to several local offices oversee. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/44d24eaf6914297e90d2a3f21daf1b7b/DTX%20Early%20Voting%20Feb%2025%20ST%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Voters enter the Audelia Road Branch Library in Dallas on Feb. 25, 2022, the last day of early voting in the Texas primary.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde school officials approve terms of superintendent’s retirement without publicly disclosing them
The school board also named Gary Patterson as the interim superintendent, but didn’t say when he would start or Harrell would depart. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cfd7251404b7e7d47557d03e467d1ea5/UCISD%20Board%20Meeting%20EL-11.jpg)
![The Board of Trustees of Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District meets to hear from members of the Uvalde community at Uvalde High School on July 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Dawn Buckingham and Jay Kleberg vie for open land commissioner seat overseeing the Alamo and disaster relief funds
The land commissioner manages the Texas General Land Office, which manages the Alamo, administers natural disaster relief funding and helps fund public education. The seat is open after incumbent George P. Bush lost his primary bid for attorney general. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/746763553558acd6a83cfeaa2a9286e2/Dawn%20Buckingham%20and%20Jay%20Kleberg%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Republican Dawn Buckingham and Democrat Jay Kleberg are running for the Texas Land Commissioner.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde superintendent retires, becoming latest local official to leave post after school shooting
Hal Harrell said his decision to leave the district after 31 years in education was “not made lightly and was made after much prayer and discernment.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7ae926ecec65aadf84c5c85a20c4e748/Uvalde%20School%20Board%20KGB%2009.jpg)
![Uvalde CISD school board members listen as parents of victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary speak during a meeting in Uvalde on August 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde school district suspends its entire police department, and superintendent announces retirement plans
All of the department’s activities were suspended for an unspecified period of time, and two employees were placed on administrative leave after it was revealed this week that one of the first state troopers to respond to the deadly school shooting in May was later hired as a district police officer. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b9c0be44b19f9e0965dc3b967cc2d6d2/UCISD%20Board%20Meeting%20EL-2.jpg)
![The Board of Trustees of Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District meets to hear from members of the Uvalde community at Uvalde High School on July 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Beto O’Rourke wants to end the STAAR tests. Here’s why he can’t.
The Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate has said several times he will end the annual standardized tests. State and federal law make it impossible. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b0c8b4c98e70a5b05bef4e6eec0307a0/Beto%20ATX%20Sept%206%20EG%20TT%2034.jpg)
![Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a rally in Austin on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune