The latest public education news from The Texas Tribune.
The Texas Education Agency and the state's main testing vendor are investigating how more than 100 students in a high-performing Houston-area high school received zeros on their English essays. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/09/Classroom-Desks-Stock.png)
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on Wednesday released criteria that schools affected by Hurricane Harvey will have to meet to be exempt from state ratings. School administrators have argued that all schools in the disaster area should automatically get waivers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/01/23/_TX428_MorathTT.jpg)
We livestreamed our conversation on Hurricane Harvey’s effect on public education. Read the recap and watch some highlights from the event. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Public_ed_and_Harvey_TT.jpg)
Homeless for a month and a half after the hurricane, Justin Williams had to put his life back together while teaching Alief ISD sixth graders. Tiffany Robinson pushed students even harder to pass state tests after teachers lost 11 school days to Harvey. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/43d13ca0433cd9f263591d225c347bda/Lessons_Justin_Williams_2_PYH_TT.jpg)
Both chambers hope to have certain fixes in place before students return to school in August. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/08/08/Straus_and_Patrick.jpg)
A 2017 law offers school districts a temporary reprieve from state sanctions if they partner with nonprofits or charters to overhaul chronically underperforming schools. But logistical challenges and local backlash has made the law difficult to use this year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Classroom.jpg)
The poll was conducted in the days immediately following a deadly school shooting in Southeast Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d4019745f8514a8d4d540391b8593888/Santa_Fe_shooting_2_MS_TT.jpg)
The plan includes new gun laws, training for school officials and an app. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/aad1d973e15b1089eaa3e4233666be7b/Santa_Fe_high_School_crosses_2_REUTERS.jpg)
The governor's announcement follows three days of roundtable discussions about school safety last week at the Capitol. He said he was open to a special session to implement some of his ideas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/20a5f20998982b280545cfe5c4075473/Abbott_school_safety_presser_1_LBH_TT.jpg)
Gov. Greg Abbott will unveil a plan Wednesday to make the state's schools safer in light of the recent shooting rampage in Santa Fe that killed 10 people. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9a2013ab6e4830e31e8b805690afdde5/_ThreePanel0800_aBBOTTlow.JPG)
These days, more students and teachers report being happy at Spring ISD's Bammel Middle School, and the number of three-day out-of-school suspensions dropped from 94 last school year to 47. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/22768323c091484f2f31580b4c8e48f8/Restorative_Practices_1_PYH.jpg)
A week after a student killed 10 people in Santa Fe High School, his classmates and teachers convened at the Capitol to discuss possible solutions for preventing future school shootings at the last of three roundtables on school safety Gov. Greg Abbott held this week. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ed08d959a6d844b0bd6be67cdbda5e35/_ThreePanel1069_Grace_Johnsonlow.JPG)
The Texas Education Agency slammed its standardized test vendor with $100,000 in damages and will re-bid the contract in June, after thousands of students were logged out of the testing system this spring. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/01/23/_TX347MorathTT.jpg)
Architects and school safety experts say that campuses are already designed with minimizing death in mind — but that architecture can only go so far. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/01aabb878630fae55935ee77fa34a49f/Santa_Fe_shooting_1_MS_TT.jpg)
Texas law prohibits employment discrimination based on a host of factors, including sex, race, religion and disability. But there’s no express protection for LGBTQ employees. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/490ff6d0f0a1ef9521d870c65d27479c/Stacy_Bailey_Julie_Vazquez_1_TT.JPG)
The 17-year-old shooter who killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School last week used his father's guns. But his family would not be liable under Texas' safe storage law, since the law only applies to children under 17. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9a733c968b80cc6bc3cd7bd92e7fb054/Santa_Fe_school_shooting_TT.jpg)
House State Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Cook joined a growing chorus of Texas politicians who have already asked Abbott to call back lawmakers to weigh proposals on the issue. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/11/15/Byron_Cook_Competitive_hearing_MKC_TT.jpg)
The southeast Texas school that was the site of Friday's mass shooting had won a statewide award for its safety plan and recently had to activate it during a false alarm about an active shooter. Its plan to arm teachers hadn't been implemented yet. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8feae029b2a5f8010876db12eb0a1986/Santa_Fe_high_School_and_police_tape_REUTERS.jpg)
A four-year-old project run by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in a group of West Texas high schools has prevented violent incidents through screenings, according to one Tech official. Could it work in all Texas schools? Full Story
As students huddled inside an art room supply closet, they frantically called police and their parents as the alleged shooter — a 17-year-old classmate — stalked the school. "He said, 'Surprise' and then he started shooting," said one survivor. Police say the student admitted responsibility for the shooting. Full Story