From West Texas to the suburbs of Houston a number of schools are moving toward “abstinence-plus” education at the urging of health advisory committees made up of community members. To get a sense for which parts of the state have the most teen pregnancies, use our map to view the birth rate for girls ages 13 to 17 in 2009 by county.
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
More Texas Schools Teach Safe Sex With Abstinence
Abstinence still rules on a state policy level, but from Midland to Spring Branch, a quiet message is spreading through Texas schools: It’s time to start teaching students about contraception.
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Public Education
Some Teachers Left to Clean Up Budget Cut Mess
Dripping Springs ISD avoided laying off teachers as a result of state budget cuts. But it has eliminated custodial positions, and that has left teachers there with new tasks once the school bell rings: sweeping classrooms and taking out the trash.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
M. Smith on Rick Perry’s allergic reaction to federal school money, E. Smith elicits Ted Cruz’s take on David Dewhurst, Root and Ramshaw cover Perry’s first presidential debate, Ramshaw and Aguilar poke at Perry’s immigration record and how it plays among Republicans, Hamilton on the dash for top status among Texas colleges, Galbraith on an environmental ruling from the White House that got conservative applause and one that didn’t, Grissom has the latest on the Willingham arson case and the state’s plans to look at other fires and Aaronson’s widget for comparing the presidential candidates: The best of our best content from Sept. 5 to 9, 2011.
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Public Education
In Public Schools, Perry Shuns Federal Influence
Gov. Rick Perry’s early opposition to the Obama administration’s education policies — whose bipartisan backers include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — make him something of an ideological outlier among Republicans.
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Higher Education
Lege Not Playing Ball With A&M
Don’t look for the Legislature to get in the middle of Texas A&M University’s split from the Big 12 Conference. Twice in the last 14 months, House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas, has called a hearing about universities leaving the Big 12 Conference — and twice he had to cancel it because the timing was off. In the meantime, the conservative blogosphere let him have it.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Tan on coming prison school cuts and online sales taxes, Root on Rick Perry’s support for tax increases when he was a lawmaker, Ramshaw and Serafini on what “Perrycare” would entail, yours truly on the differences between Perry and George W. Bush, Philpott on the passions of the Paulites, Murphy and Seger unveil the Trib’s Texas Public Schools Database, Hamilton on UT’s answer to calls for improvements in higher ed, Galbraith on predictions that the record heat in Texas will be a long-term problem and Aguilar on the legal shootout over gun sales in Texas: The best of our best content from Aug. 22 to 26, 2011.
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Politics
The Skinny: James Leininger
This weekend, the San Antonio physician and prolific donor to conservative candidates and causes hosts a Hill Country gathering for Gov. Rick Perry and some of his evangelical supporters. Who is Leininger? Here’s a primer.
Posted inPublic Education
News App: The Texas Public Schools Database
With the Tribune’s Texas Public Schools Database, parents, students and other readers can access key academic, financial and administrative information about every public school district and campus in the state.
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Criminal Justice
Video: 31 Days, 31 Ways: Fewer Classes for Incarcerated Texans
DAY 23 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The state’s prison education system, known as the Windham School District, eliminates or reduces classes for inmates.