M. Smith on the decision that Texas school funding is unconstitutional, E. Smith’s TribLive conversation with House Speaker Joe Straus, Rocha and Dehn’s look at how Texas got its current ethics laws, Ramshaw peeks into the lobby’s bag of gifts for lawmakers, Batheja finds state lawmakers who lobby other government entities, KUT’s Philpott on federal health care in Texas, Murphy reveals the geography of House committee assignments, Hamilton on a Caribbean medical school that wants to operate in Texas, Grissom at a court of inquiry on a murder prosecutor’s conduct, Aguilar on a decision that allows an open-pit coal mine to operate on the state’s Mexican border and Aaronson’s report on legislative inquiries about the state’s cancer prevention agency: The best of our best for the week of Feb. 4, 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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Public Education
After Backlash, Changes in Store for State Curriculum System
CSCOPE, the controversial statewide curriculum delivery system, will undergo a review process and ensure better transparency, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee announced Friday.
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Bidness As Usual
Despite Reforms, Elected Officials Can Still Lobby
While members of the Texas Legislature can no longer act as lobbyists before state agencies, plenty of lawmakers still manage to lobby local governments. Others find work that critics would classify as lobbying by another name.
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Public Education
TribLive: Straus on School Finance
At Wednesday’s TribLive conversation, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, reacted to this week’s ruling on the school finance lawsuit and talked about what happens now.
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Public Education
Aycock Proposes New Testing, Graduation Requirements
Newly appointed House Public Education Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock filed legislation Wednesday that would restructure the state’s high school graduation and student testing requirements.
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Criminal Justice
Villalba Files School Marshal Bill
State Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, has filed a bill that would allow Texas schools to appoint “school marshals” — employees who could carry guns in an effort to protect students from violence.
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Guides
Texplainer: Has State Spending on Schools Increased?
Hey, Texplainer: I keep hearing that the money the state spends on public education has increased over the past decade. But the ruling in the school finance trial said Texas schools are underfunded. Who is right?
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Public Education
The Evening Brief: Feb. 4, 2013
Your evening reading: judge rules against Texas’ school finance system; Piers Morgan to hold show tonight near Houston; Perry luring Californians to Texas with radio ads
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Public Education
Updated: School Finance Ruling Favors Districts
In a decision sure to be appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, state district Judge John Dietz ruled Monday in favor of more than 600 school districts on all of their major claims against the state.
Posted inPublic Education
Interactive: Children at Risk Budget Cuts Survey
After the $5.4 billion cut to public education during the 2011 legislative session, the advocacy group Children at Risk teamed up with a coalition of nonprofit foundations to provide comprehensive data on how Texas schools were coping with less money.
