Faced with a teacher shortage, West Texas school district may be latest to go virtual
As an oil boom increases housing costs and lures staff away, the Ector County school board has struggled to recruit and retain enough teachers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dc9ea2c0eb4f0afc2f127fd07c661ad4/Proximity_Learning_classroom_TT.jpg)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Courtesy Proximity Learning -
Texas projects state funding for schools to drop as local revenue grows
In a preliminary budget request, the Texas Education Agency revealed it expects the state to put less money into public education next year because of fast-increasing local property values. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/01/23/_TX428_MorathTT.jpg)
![Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Texas education board workgroup changes course on "heroic" Alamo defenders
After submitting a recommendation to remove the word "heroic" from seventh-grade history textbooks, a Texas State Board of Education workgroup backed off its proposal after outcry from officials and the public. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4045ac3a769a022f20fa00215ca17176/_SBOE245_DanChandlerXX.JPG)
![Dan Chandler of Plano waits to testify on social studies language before the State Board of Education during a Committee of the Whole hearing on Sept. 11, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
In ads, Gov. Greg Abbott boasts of expanding pre-K. Advocates say that's misleading.
Early childhood education advocates say the governor created an "unfunded mandate" for higher-quality pre-K that Texas schools are unable to meet. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Abbott.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Texas considering cutting high school cosmetology courses
The Texas Education Agency says cosmetologists don’t make enough to justify continuing high school cosmetology programs. Teachers and students say reported salaries don’t tell the whole story. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c0e51a1695faa3a7bed2bb0b49c914e6/Cosmetology_Class_Buda_2_RZ_TT.jpg)
![Elizabeth Ruvalcaba and Rahslyn Stallings practice styling techniques in a cosmetology class at Jack C. Hays High School in Buda on Sept. 7, 2018.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott warns Texas education board of “political correctness” over Alamo history standards
An advisory committee has suggested eliminating a line in seventh-grade history standards about “all the heroic defenders who gave their lives” at the Alamo. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/02/25/Alamo_and_Texas_flags_MKC_TT.jpg)
![The Alamo in San Antonio on Feb. 23, 2018.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas won't pay to educate migrant kids in shelters. Now two charter schools are scrambling.
State education officials did not seem to be aware the two public schools were located in migrant shelters, despite approving their applications. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bd6f587496dddd80b6e0cd5259dbb576/Border_Immigration_3_REUTERS_LE_TT.jpg)
![Immigrants who turned themselves in to border patrol agents after illegally crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. wait to be transported for processing in the Rio Grande Valley sector, near McAllen, Texas, on April 2, 2018.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Loren Elliott -
Despite cost savings, retired teachers health care program still underwater
The Teacher Retirement System likely will not vote to increase premiums for retired teachers this month, as previously expected, an agency official said. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cb8b84094ddf7cdbb26118569d68c85d/RetiredTeacher_Presser_2_BD_TT.jpg)
![Yvonne Landin, a retired teacher from Corpus Christi, holds a sign as retired teachers gather at the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) building in Austin on July 26, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
State audit finds serious flaws in Texas Education Agency contracting process
The audit says the Texas Education Agency consistently bypassed required steps and failed to consider other options before awarding a special education contract. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1b9e671c6eeed1091ee77cc95b60e3a0/Penny_Schwinn_LBS_TT.jpg)
![Texas Education Agency official Penny Schwinn listens to testimony at a hearing on special education in Richardson on April 16, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Texas says it won't fund education for children in shelters
A letter from the Texas Education Agency about funding for schooling in migrant shelters highlights the ongoing push and pull between federal and state agencies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b78be92555bed73fd39dc36cf2c08ba9/Casa_Padre_REUTERS.JPG)
![Casa Padre, an immigrant shelter for unaccompanied minors, is pictured in Brownsville on June 19, 2018.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Loren Elliott -
Texas Education Agency chooses familiar face to lead special education overhaul
Justin Porter, previously the education agency's executive director of special populations, will oversee how Texas school districts are serving kids with special needs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a0a71abbc22990ab763fbcce21bc201c/Special_ed_hearing_2_LBH_TT.jpg)
![Texas Education Agency officials Penny Schwinn and Justin Porter listen to testimony at a hearing on special education in Richardson on April 16, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Texas teachers unions sue education agency over charter partnership law
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, two teacher groups argue Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath exceeded his authority and weakened protections for public school employees. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/01/23/_TX347MorathTT.jpg)
![Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath testifies before the Texas Commission on Public School Finance about education outcomes on Jan. 23, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Texas has issued A-F grades for its school districts. Here's a look at what stands out.
As school communities and state officials discuss their school districts' official state ratings, many disagree on what the results actually mean. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3197b4f18fd84a45f21fda5083db6f79/A-F_classroom_Tiffany_Szerpicki_TT.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Tiffany Szerpicki -
Betsy DeVos is considering allowing federal funds to arm teachers. Texas may have given her the idea.
A Trump administration official told Education Week that Texas first raised the possibility of using federal grants for that purpose. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e43826b6350b6bbe7d1730553292aaf6/Marshal_Program_Training_1_RZ_TT.jpg)
![An educator partakes in a simulated shooting as part of a training for school marshals. School marshals are school staff trained and armed to take out a threat to their campus.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick urges Teacher Retirement System not to raise health care premiums
Patrick said funding for health care benefits under TRS-Care should be the responsibility of the Legislature and "not fall on the shoulders of our retired teachers." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/09/Patrick-3TW.jpg)
![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in Austin on Jan 9, 2017.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
Texas school districts receive first official A-F grades. Look up how your district did here.
For the first time Wednesday, Texas school districts received official ratings that show their performance on a scale from A through F, perpetuating a debate on whether the new system is more accessible for parents. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/11/TT-school-report-card-art001.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Benjamin Hasson -
Analysis: School districts are getting report cards. They shouldn’t be the only ones.
When the state hands out report cards on school districts, don't forget the elected officials who write the policies those districts follow. Voters will grade their papers later this year — in the general election. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
How Texas educators train before arming themselves at school
The school marshal program allows certain school staffers to carry a firearm and neutralize active shooters on campus. Here's how participants train. Full Story
![An educator partakes in a simulated shooting as part of a training for school marshals. School marshals are school staff trained and armed to take out a threat to their campus.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
“Harvey’s not over”: School’s about to start — but the trauma from Hurricane Harvey lingers
Nearly a year after Hurricane Harvey submerged Port Arthur, students are still fighting its effects as they return to school. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d9ecbe3d3eb466789cf5cee040501373/Darby_Dugay_PYH_TT.jpg)
![Darby Dugay, 17, sits for a portrait in the bedroom of her FEMA mobile home after Hurricane Harvey flooded her family's house in Port Arthur, TX. Dugay has focused much of her energy into sports and marching band as her family continues to rebuild from Hurricane Harvey.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
GOP sues to kick Gallego off the ballot in state Senate special election
The party claims that former U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego doesn't live in Senate District 19, which includes parts of San Antonio and West Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/11/09/ShelbyKnowles-November_08_2016-4.jpg)
![Former US Rep Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, concedes the 2016 Texas 23rd Congressional District race to Will Hurd, a San Antonio Republican, on Nov. 9, 2016]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4d5698434935f553fec6575eccd99085/BD%20INC%20Save%20Our%20Schools%20rally%2005%202011)