Grissom begins a gripping series on mental health and criminal justice, Hamilton and White on the Senate’s defense of UT-Austin, Murphy’s interactive look at public school test scores, Ramshaw finds the governor digging in on the Medicaid expansion, Rocha and Dehn visit a weapons maker with Ted Cruz, M. Smith explores another angle on unpopular standardized testing, Batheja on a car that drives right past state laws, Aguilar reports on the other immigration problem, Aaronson on a break in the race for a cancer cure: The best of our best for the week of February 18-22, 2012.
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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Demographics
TribLive: A Conversation About Demographic Change
Full video of Julián Aguilar’s February 21 TribLive conversation about the impact of demographic change on public policy with state Reps. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, and Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock.
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Public Education
Amid Anti-Testing Furor, a Focus on High School Graduation Requirements
Proposals to modify high school graduation requirements have won the support of educators and industry groups. But some worry momentum against high-stakes testing could sweep away progress in improving preparation for college and career.
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Public Education
Bill Targets Domestic Partnerships in School District’s Health Plan
Pflugerville ISD made history last year when the board of trustees approved health benefits for domestic partners of its employees. In response, Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, has filed a bill to cut the district’s health care funding.
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Public Education
Texas Lawmakers Mixed on Charter School Proposal
At an education hearing on Thursday, Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, brought in national experts in an effort to build consensus around an ambitious plan to reform the state’s charter school system.
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Demographics
TribLive: Anchia and Gonzales on Public Education
At Thursday’s TribLive conversation, state Reps. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, and Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, talked to Julián Aguilar about the intersection of public education and demographic change.
Posted inPublic Education
Interactive: 2011-12 STAAR Results, by District, for Grades 3-8
Last spring, Texas students in grades three through eight took the STAAR exams for the first time. Using results from Pearson Education, the state’s testing contractor, this interactive provides the first look at how the school districts performed.
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Criminal Justice
Groups File Federal Complaint Over Bryan ISD Discipline Policies
Texas Appleseed and the Brazos County branch of the NAACP have filed a federal complaint against Bryan ISD, saying the school district’s reliance on ticketing as a form of discipline “disproportionately harms” black students.
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Public Education
TribCast: Testing, Immigration and Bill Powers
Morgan, Ross, Julian and Evan discuss the public education debates now playing out at the Capitol, the prospect of comprehensive immigration reform and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s emotional defense of UT-Austin President Bill Powers.
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Public Education
Reducing School Tests Draws Support in Hearing
More than 100 witnesses signed up to testify before the House Public Education Committee Tuesday on a massive bill restructuring student testing, graduation requirements and the public school accountability system in the state.