T-Squared: Take The Texas Tribune's annual reader survey
Your responses will help us better understand the people consuming our journalism and how they use it — and that will make us better equipped to serve you. Full Story
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![Amanda Elise Salas asks a question to state Senator and Representatives during a panel of The Rio Grande Valley & 86th Legislature event by The Texas Tribune on June 10, 2019 in Edinburg, Texas.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Veronica G. Cardenas for The Texas Tribune -
After penalizing gay teacher, Mansfield ISD awards her $100,000, plans vote to ban sexual orientation discrimination
As part of the settlement, the school district agreed to provide mandatory training to human resources and counseling staff on LGBTQ issues in schools, and to require its board of trustees to vote on whether to add protections for sexual orientation into its policies. Full Story
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![Stacy Bailey, left, has sued Mansfield Independent School District alleging that it discriminated against her based on her sexual orientation.]()
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How are Texas public schools engaging with the 2020 presidential election? Share your story.
At a divisive and dramatic moment in U.S. politics, we'd like students and teachers to tell us what they're learning, talking about and missing as they follow the presidential race. Full Story
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![Students at Longview High School on Jan. 26, 2018.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Lewd tweets, the N-word and just plain weirdness: A wild-card candidate rattles education board races.
Eight seats are in play for the 15-member State Board of Education, which decides what Texas children are taught. Democrats hope to pick up seats in November, but for now, both parties just want to see Robert Morrow lose his GOP primary. Full Story
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![Robert Murrow at a Texas Tribune Event on May 10, 2018.]()
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Most Texans want lower property taxes and more school spending, UT/TT Poll finds
It's not a new contradiction, but it's persistent: Texas voters think that property taxes are too high and that school spending is too low, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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Hearing airs sexual abuse claims against KIPP charter school co-founder Mike Feinberg
An administrative hearing into whether Mike Feinberg can keep his Texas educator certificate turned into a de facto trial over the sexual abuse allegation that led to his dismissal from the charter network he co-founded in the 1990s. Full Story
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![Michael Feinberg, right, watches his lawyers, Christopher L. Tritico, left, and Ron S. Rainey defend him at a hearing in Austin to determine whether Feinberg should surrender his teaching license to the Texas Education Agency on Feb. 12, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
After black student suspended over dreadlocks, some Texas lawmakers want to ban hair discrimination
The Texas Legislative Black Caucus hopes to pass the CROWN Act in the next legislative session. The bill would prohibit hair discrimination affecting people of color in schools and workplaces. 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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Texans, tell us about your experiences with hair discrimination in schools
Have you encountered hair-based discrimination in a Texas public school? Fill out the form below, and we’ll be in touch. Full Story
![The administration at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu told senior DeAndre Arnold to cut his dreadlocks.]()
Credit: YouTube screenshot -
Texas Southern University regents link president's ouster to alleged admissions improprieties
The board's statement does not directly tie President Austin Lane to the alleged problems but says he was interviewed before he was placed on leave. Full Story
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![Texas Southern University President Austin Lane is on paid administrative leave.]()
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Texas education officials consider new rules to fast-track charter school expansion
Teachers groups and some education advocates are criticizing the proposed changes, saying more charter schools will siphon money and students away from traditional public schools. Full Story
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![Charter school supporters attend a rally for the Texas Charter School Association at the Capitol on April 26, 2017.]()
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State judge temporarily blocks Texas from taking over Houston school district
Texas will not be able to seize power of Houston ISD's school board until the state judge issues a final ruling on the lawsuit challenging the takeover. Full Story
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![Wheatley High School on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Analyzing 2019: The 86th Texas Legislature
Texas lawmakers, convinced that 2018’s voters were telling them to get some serious work done, steered (mostly) away from social and cultural issues to concentrate on “meat and potatoes” items voters demanded, starting with schools and property taxes. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses state officials at the State of the State address in the House Chambers at the State Capitol on Feb. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Revisit some of The Texas Tribune’s best stories of 2019
Our reporters crisscrossed the Texas Capitol and traveled to the Panhandle and East Texas — as well as the Netherlands and Honduras — to tell stories about the state's politics, people and places. From a story on a migrant's desperate journey to a look at how coal companies are leaving behind contaminated land, here is a selection of their best work of the year. Full Story
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![View from the Capitol Rotunda in Austin.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge dismisses Houston ISD lawsuit seeking to avoid state takeover
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel rejected the district's argument that ousting the Houston school board would disenfranchise voters. Full Story
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![Wheatley High School on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Students face felony charges, expulsions as Texas schools ramp up fight against vaping
Caught off guard by the increase in teen vaping, schools are grasping every tool at hand, including expulsions and suspensions. In some districts, students can face harsh discipline and jail time for having a vape pen in their backpack. Full Story
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![Thomas Williams-Platt, 18, in the backyard of his aunt’s home in Georgetown on Nov. 22, 2019. Last December the then 17-year-old was arrested for bringing a vape pen to his high school.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
Midland County officials just found a missing ballot box. It may change the result of a $569 million bond election.
A proposal for a $569 million bond failed, then passed and could fail again after the discovery of missing ballot box from the November election. Full Story
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![Midland officials found in a missing box from the November 2019 election containing over 800 ballots.]()
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A year before Fort Worth ISD fired a teacher over her tweets about immigrants, students say she threatened to call the FBI on them
Fort Worth ISD fired Georgia Clark after she asked President Trump on Twitter in May to "remove the illegals from Fort Worth." The Texas Education Agency reversed their decision late last month mostly on procedural grounds, but the school district plans to appeal. Full Story
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![Amon Carter Riverside High School in the Fort Worth Independent School Distict.]()
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Houston school district asks federal judge to put the brakes on likely state takeover
Houston ISD lawyers told a federal judge the education commissioner is exceeding his authority and asked for a preliminary injunction stopping him from booting out the elected school board of the state's largest district. Full Story
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![Wheatley High School on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
State-ordered study finds STAAR not too hard for young readers
Questions about the reading and writing tests arose after some education advocates pointed to studies showing passages were written above elementary and middle schoolers' grade levels. Full Story
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Fort Worth teacher who asked Trump to deport students said her tweets were protected by the First Amendment. Texas officials agreed.
Commissioner of Education Mike Morath wrote that Georgia Clark did not waive her First Amendment rights when she signed her contract with Fort Worth ISD. Full Story
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![Georgia Clark.]()
Credit: Fort Worth Indepenent School District
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