Texas will start posting coronavirus case data from public schools, education commissioner says
The data will be posted on a state website and the reporting process will be finalized after input from school superintendents. Full Story
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![Partitions made from clear shower curtains and PVC pipe separate desks in a fourth grade classroom at Abilene's Texas Leader…]()
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Texas school district's dreadlocks ban discriminatory, federal court rules
The decision comes a month after the Barbers Hill Independent School District board of trustees voted to keep the dress code policy, which advocates have deemed racist. Full Story
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![The administration at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu told senior DeAndre Arnold to cut his dreadlocks.]()
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When sharing pencils isn’t safe, this San Antonio teacher is helping crowdfund extra school supplies
In the weekend edition of The Brief podcast, listen to why Ambra Hernandez felt compelled to launch a Facebook group to help teachers fulfill their longer-than-normal wish lists. Full Story
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![Ambra Hernandez, left, poses with a student and parent outside of Stevens High School in the San Antonio-area.]()
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Analysis: Shopping for students without schoolrooms, Texas is spending $250 million to narrow the digital divide
In a state where an estimated 30% of the state's 5.5 million public school students don't have the right technology for online learning, switching to virtual classrooms is daunting. And expensive. Full Story
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![Eagle scout and high-school graduate Will Clarkston, 20, logged into The Bridge School from his bedroom in Houston Tuesday, …]()
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Hope, fear and hula hoops. How four Texas schools are preparing to bring students back into classrooms.
Public schools are about to become the next front line in a state struggling to control the coronavirus pandemic. Here's what it's like on the ground at four of them. Full Story
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![Early College coordinator Byllye Benavides measures a plastic partition on a desk at Premont Ernest H. Singleton Early Colle…]()
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Analysis: The election won’t humble the coronavirus. It’s the other way around.
When general election voting starts in two months, Texas voters will know some things they don't know today to help them make decisions, like what actually happens when you open public schools or allow college football to proceed. Full Story
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![Barbers Lynese Marchic and her son Nicholas Gasper in their Austin shop on their first day open after closing during the cor…]()
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Coronavirus testing in Texas plummets as schools prepare to reopen
Texas' low number of tests and large percentage of positive results suggest inadequacies in the state's public health surveillance effort at a time when school reopenings are certain to increase viral spread, health experts said. Full Story
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![Medical workers wearing personal protective equipment test for COVID-19 at a testing site at Memorial Park Aquatic Facility …]()
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Analysis: The opening line in every Texas political debate
School openings, government hearings, going to bars, voting, shopping, even the doings at the Texas Capitol hinge on the same issues: whether it’s safe to gather, and how to go about it. Full Story
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![Voters, wearing masks and spread six feet apart, line up outside the Metropolitan Multiservice Center in Houston to vote in …]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
With school reopening, Gov. Greg Abbott sets off another debate over whether local or state officials are in control
Abbott’s decision to curb the role of local health authorities in school reopening decisions has added to the ongoing conflict between him and local governments during the pandemic, with mayors and judges voicing frustration over having their hands tied by the state’s response. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott puts on his mask during his press conference after talking to local and county officials about the damage d…]()
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Analysis: Opening Texas schools is 2020’s top election issue
During a pandemic, an economic recession and public protests against racial injustice and police violence, it's hard to say what Texas voters will be thinking about in this year's election. Here's a candidate: Reopening schools. Full Story
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![Desks are seated six feet away from each other at Premont Collegiate High School on Aug. 4, 2020 in Premont. Some desks, mar…]()
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Private schools in Texas limit enrollment as they aim to reopen classrooms
Dependent on tuition money, private schools are eager to get children back into their classrooms. But they know inadequate safety measures could make them vulnerable to lawsuits. Full Story
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![Students and teachers walk through the halls at Cactus Elementary School on Jan. 28, 2020.]()
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Analysis: August agenda for local government includes schools, police spending, property taxes and a pandemic
Local governments in Texas finish their spending plans and set their tax rates in August, an annual exercise that includes some hot topics in this pandemic year, like police spending, public schools and property taxes. Full Story
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![A general view of Dallas on March 31, 2020.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott says local health officials can shut down schools only in limited circumstances
Abbott said local health authorities can't shut down in-person instruction before school starts, but an outbreak on campus once students have arrived could prompt a closure. Full Story
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![A student walks down the hallway at Cactus Elementary School in Cactus on Jan. 28, 2020.]()
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Custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers also fear returning to Texas schools
Texas schools employ almost as many support staff members as they do teachers, often in hourly or part-time jobs with low pay. The state has offered limited guidance on how to protect them on the job. Full Story
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![School buses are parked at the Austin Independent School District bus center in July.]()
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TribCast: Texas revises coronavirus death tally as school reopening chaos continues
On this week's TribCast, Alexa talks to Ross, Aliyya and Emma about the state's bad relationship with data and the latest pingponging guidance on how and when schools can reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. Full Story
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![The Dobie Pre-Kindergarten in Austin.]()
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Conservative think tank leader says schools should reopen since most Texans dying from COVID-19 are elderly or Hispanic
In an interview, Vance Ginn said the intention of his Twitter thread was to outline the more thorough data provided by the state. He also said his tweet with a GIF was “woefully taken out of context out of bad faith.” Full Story
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![Dr. Vance Ginn, chief economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.]()
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Texas attorney general says local health authorities cannot “indiscriminately” shut down schools
After Paxton's guidance, the Texas Education Agency reversed course and announced that the state won't fund schools that remain closed under a local public health mandate. Full Story
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![A classroom in Cactus Elementary School in Cactus on Jan. 28, 2020.]()
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Texas families now have until Aug. 21 to apply for food aid to make up for school meals
The families of more than 20% of the 3.6 million eligible school children across the state have yet to apply for federal aid under the Pandemic EBT program. Full Story
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![A volunteer loads a box of groceries into a truck for delivery to a nearby community in the the panhandle.]()
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Texas fifth and eighth graders won't have to pass STAAR test to move on to the next grade
Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that Texas students must take the state standardized test next spring, but fifth and eighth graders can graduate without passing it. Full Story
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![STAAR themed decorations adorn the hallways of Wharton Elementary School in Wharton on April 21, 2018.]()
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Harris County orders schools closed until Sept. 8
The order could extend further, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. Full Story
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![Computer station at the library in Wheatley High School on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune