Are charter schools private? In Texas courts, it depends why you're asking.
Texas charter schools are sometimes private and sometimes governmental — a legal framework that has helped them avoid costly lawsuits. Full Story
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Lawmakers, education leaders discuss school finance in Texas
We livestreamed our conversation on school finance reform with state Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, state Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, Todd Williams, and Nicole Conley Johnson. Read the recap or watch some clips. Full Story
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Texas has a plan to fix special education. Now what?
Our Facebook community, This Is Your Texas, spent the month of April discussing Texas education policy. With the state education agency expected to announce a plan to overhaul special education programs in public schools, we asked members of our community what questions they have about such services — and turned to a disability rights advocate for help answering them. Full Story
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Shutdown of Texas schools probe shows Trump administration pullback on civil rights
The U.S. Department of Education was investigating why black students in Bryan, Texas, are almost four times as likely as white students to be suspended. Then Betsy DeVos took over. Full Story
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![U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos testifies to the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on the FY2019 budget request for the Department of Education on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2018.]()
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Texas students walk out of classes, continuing momentum of gun violence protests
Thousands of Texas students walked out of their classes Friday morning to protest ongoing gun violence in America. Full Story
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![Students from Stony Point High School in Round Rock participate in a student-driven walkout calling for action against gun violence on April 20, 2018, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.]()
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Texas teachers' pay is average. But their pensions are among the lowest in the country.
Benefits for Texas teachers have been a point of contention between educators and lawmakers for years — and often a hot topic at the Legislature. But where does Texas fall nationally when it comes to teacher pay, health care and retirement benefits? Full Story
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Texas school administrators warn they need money for likely spike in special education
A Texas Education Agency plan requires school districts to find and serve the large number of students who may have been left out of special education for years. School administrators say they're at a loss for how to pay for that with no requisite increase in state funding. Full Story
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![Jaculyn Zigtema, special education director for Whitehouse ISD, speaks during a Texas Education Agency hearing on special education funding in Richardson on April 16, 2018.]()
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Analysis: Texans hate standardized tests, but govern by the results
Kids and parents and teachers have spent the week struggling through another round of standardized testing in Texas public schools. Voters hate it, so politicians hate it. But the test results are a key ingredient of the state's education policy. Full Story
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Harvey-affected Texas schools may not have STAAR scores count against their annual ratings
Texas school districts hit hard by Hurricane Harvey may not have to worry as much about how well their students fare in this year's State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced Wednesday at a meeting of the State Board of Education. Full Story
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![Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath attends a meeting with local officials in Victoria, Texas, about post-Harvey school issues on Sept. 8, 2017.]()
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Texas education officials promise focus on math, reading after “lagging” report card
National exam results show Texas and the nation stagnating in academic achievement for elementary and middle school students. Experts have different takes on what state education officials should do to fix it. Full Story
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Texas education board approves course formerly known as Mexican-American studies
After years of debate, the State Board of Education voted preliminarily to create curriculum standards for a Mexican-American studies class. But thanks to the objections of one member, it'll now be called “Ethnic Studies: An Overview of Americans of Mexican Descent.” Full Story
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![State Board of Education member Marisa Perez-Diaz speaks to a group of people rallying for the inclusion of Mexican-American studies in public school curriculum outside the Texas Education Agency on April 11, 2018.]()
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Texas students are taking the STAAR tests this week. Take our quiz to see how you'd fare.
Students across Texas are taking state standardized tests this week. Take some of the tests' most difficult questions to see if you'd pass. Full Story
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Problems reported with Texas' STAAR exam — again
Two years after software problems rendered results on the statewide STAAR exam unusable, students taking the test Tuesday reported more technical problems. Full Story
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A teacher says a coworker grabbed her “behind.” The Texas Supreme Court tossed her lawsuit.
The court found that the woman who sued didn't prove that the female coworker who harassed her was gay, so it's not clear that the incident constituted "sexually motivated touching." Full Story
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Teachers in other states are striking. Texas teachers can't do that.
Texas state law says that teachers could lose their teaching certificates and pensions if they go on strike. Full Story
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This Texas school that inspired "Friday Night Lights" is overcrowded amid oil boom. One class has 63 kids.
Record enrollment is putting a strain on the already low-performing Ector County Independent School District. In Odessa, school administrators and teachers are parents are asking: Where are we going to put all of these kids? Full Story
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![Permian High School in Odessa was built for 2,500 students. Next year, they’re expecting student enrollment to reach 4,100.]()
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Researcher has educators asking: If Kansas schools need $2 billion, how much do Texas' need?
Texas A&M University professor Lori Taylor stunned Kansas lawmakers by recommending they increase their school funding by 44 percent. But what does that mean for Texas? Full Story
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![Professor Lori Taylor, director of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy, in her office at Texas A&M University in College Station on March 27, 2018.]()
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Texas schools suspended tens of thousands of students in second grade or younger, report says
The report warned educators and policy leaders of the risks that in-school suspensions continue to have on pre-K to second-grade students in Texas public schools. Full Story
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Feds approve Texas school accountability plan that includes parts of A-F rating system
Federal officials gave final approval to a Texas plan for school improvement, which includes portions of the new system for grading schools on a scale from A to F. Texas education officials say it's not too late for the public to weigh in on the A-F system. Full Story
![U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos testifies to the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on the FY2019 budget request for the Department of Education on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2018.]()
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Analysis: Electioneering is not a crime unless it’s on the taxpayers’ dime
State officials are warning school officials, in effect, not to turn into political organizers. That means educators shouldn't be telling students how to vote, but it sounds like some state officials don't even want educators helping students to become voters. Full Story
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![Austin ISD school buses at the terminal near John H. Reagan High School on July 26, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price / The Texas Tribune