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.
Public Education
Explore The Texas Tribune’s coverage of public education, from K-12 schools and funding to teachers, students, and policies shaping classrooms across Texas.
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Public Education
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.
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Criminal Justice
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.
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Public Education
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.
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Public Education
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.
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Public Education
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.
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Public Education
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.
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Public Education
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.
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Public Education
Feds order Texas Education Agency to pay fired special education director more than $200,000
The U.S. Department of Education found that Laurie Kash’s disclosures about how the TEA awarded a contract were “contributing factors” in her termination.
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Public Education
Texas education officials face local resistance to Houston ISD board takeover
Houston ISD parents and residents made it clear Thursday night that they don’t want the state to replace their elected school board.