Gov. Greg Abbott wants lawmakers to target critical race theory in a special session, but is so far mum on details
The governor said Wednesday he would add the issue to the agenda for an anticipated special session. Full Story
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![Fifth graders at Jacob’s Well Elementary School in Wimberley lineup at the door as they prepare to walk back to their classroom from the science lab on Sept. 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas “critical race theory” bill limiting teaching of current events signed into law
Texas is one of a handful of states that have approved legislation that prescribes how teachers discuss current events and prohibits students from receiving credit for participating in civic activities. 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 -
T-Squared: Tickets for the 2021 Texas Tribune Festival are on sale now
As we emerge from the pandemic, our signature annual ideas conference will be a best-of-both-worlds convening. Some of our programming will be virtual. Some of it will be in person. All of it will be awesome. Full Story
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Texas teachers and students, tell us how race and racism are taught in school
House Bill 3979 restricts how teachers can talk about race and current events in public schools. We want to hear from teachers and students on how it could impact what students learn about America's history — and its present. Full Story
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![Students leave the classroom to work in the computer lab at Mata Intermediate School.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Pandemic shifts balance in long-running debate over the best way to teach children to read
For years, educators have disagreed over the most effective method for teaching reading. In Texas, one side thinks remote learning during the pandemic has strengthened its argument in the Reading Wars. Full Story
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![A stack of various books. June 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill limiting teaching of current events, historic racism appears headed for governor after Senate revives it
Texas educators worry the bill would have a chilling effect on tough conversations about race and racism. GOP lawmakers say they wanted to ensure teachers’ personal biases stay out of their lessons. Full Story
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![High school students walk to their next class after the bell rings at Elsik Ninth Grade Center in Houston on March 28, 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas educators worry bill limiting the teaching of current events and historic racism would “whitewash history”
Texas educators say they’re concerned they won’t be able to have open conversations about what’s happening in the world if the Texas Legislature approves a bill that restricts how teachers can discuss current events in the classroom. Full Story
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![Students in class at Bowie High School in Austin.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Some Texas schools would be required to hang "In God We Trust" signs under measure nearing passage by lawmakers
The national motto would have to be hung in a "conspicuous place" in every building on the school's campus — if someone donates the sign. Full Story
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![Corina Pannabecker teaches first grade at Ogden Elementary in San Antonio on April 30, 2018.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ divisive bill limiting how students learn about current events and historic racism passed by Senate
The bill aims to ban critical race theory in public and open-enrollment charter schools. Supporters say it merely ensures students aren't taught that one race or gender is superior to another. Critics say it limits how race in America is taught. Full Story
![Students leave the classroom to work in the computer lab at Mata Intermediate School.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas families with students receiving free or reduced-price lunches could be eligible for up to $1,200 in food aid
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will allocate around $2.5 billion in food benefits to all eligible families. School districts will notify families about eligibility by June 2. Full Story
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![Students sit at socially-distanced intervals in the lunch room at Jacob’s Well Elementary School in Wimberley on Sept. 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for the Texas Tribune -
Vengeance or politics? Democrat Harold Dutton explains why he advanced bill targeting transgender athletes, other GOP priorities
As a powerful committee chairman, Dutton could have bottled up legislation that Democrats opposed. Instead, critics say, he’s pushed through Republican bills that Democrats find objectionable. Full Story
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Pay for some Texas teachers will top $100,000 in bid to aid poorer schools devastated by COVID-19
A new incentive program will increase pay for teachers facing some of the greatest challenges in helping students catch up from the pandemic. It relies on more than standardized test scores to measure performance. Full Story
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Texas House adds MLK and Frederick Douglass speeches to bill that would mandate teaching “informed American patriotism”
House Bill 4509 would mandate that students study documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers. The bill’s author added speeches from Black historical figures after criticism at a hearing last month. Full Story
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![A student walks down the hallway at Cactus Elementary School in Cactus on Jan. 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas colleges and universities get $2 billion in federal stimulus money. Half must go directly to struggling students.
The federal government also announced that undocumented and international students can now receive those emergency funds, too, rolling back a Trump administration rule that allowed schools to distribute grants only to students who qualified for federal financial aid. Full Story
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![The Austin Community College Riverside campus on Feb. 27, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Texas public schools couldn’t require critical race theory lessons under bill given House approval
House Bill 3979 is part of a national effort by red-state legislatures to ban or limit the teaching of critical race theory. That academic discipline examines how racism has shaped legal and social systems within the United States. Full Story
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![High school students walk to their next class after the bell rings at Elsik Ninth Grade Center in Houston on March 28, 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Resuming in-person learning at Texas schools last fall accelerated spread of COVID-19, study says
The researchers said the additional cases they tracked after students began returning to schools represented 12% of the state’s total cases during the eight weeks after reopening and 17% of deaths. Full Story
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![Kindergarten students line up on social distancing markers on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary on Sept. 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Democrat revives Texas bill restricting transgender students' sports participation in apparent act of retaliation against his party
The bill previously lacked the votes to advance out of House committee. After House Democrats spiked one of his bills, Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, revived it. Full Story
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![State Rep. Harold V. Dutton Jr., D-Houston, on the House floor on May 5, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
GOP lawmakers want to ban "woke philosophies" like critical race theory in Texas schools
Gov. Greg Abbott has called for expanding the state's civic education curriculum, but the House and Senate are quickly advancing bills that would restrict the discussion of current events and public policy in the classroom and prohibit critical race theory in public schools. Full Story
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![High school students between classes in the hallway at the high school in Buffalo on March 28, 2019.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Point of Order: What we learned from a year of disruption to public education in Texas
In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to LaTonya Goffney, the superintendent of Aldine Independent School District, about public education’s disrupted year — pivoting online, learning loss, budget woes, and what it will take to put the whole thing back together by fall. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers consider bill that would prevent schools and workplaces from discriminatory bans on dreadlocks, other hairstyles
After holding a press conference on Tuesday, proponents of the CROWN Act to ban hair discrimination finally received a committee hearing on the bill Thursday morning. Several students, parents and workers testified before members about their experiences being targeted for wearing natural hair. Full Story
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![A committee hearing room featuring plexiglass dividers on Jan. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune
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