Ramsey on whether Bill White at the top of the ballot helps Houston-area candidates, Aaronson and Stiles present a treemap of Texas political ads, Stiles and Ramsey on the latest campaign finance filings, Aguilar on the Laredo mayor’s race, Hamilton on anonymous tweeters who make mischief, Ramshaw interviews a disability rights activist with a thing for iPads and bibles, Hu on the accidental release of Rick Perry’s “secret” schedule, M. Smith on the bitter back-and-forth over a voter registration effort in Harris County, Philpott’s micro-debate on education between two House candidates, Grissom on this week’s twist in the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation and, in our latest collaboration with a big-city Texas newspaper, Stiles, Grissom and John Tedesco of the San-Antonio Express News on what kind of Texans, exactly, are applying to carry concealed handguns: The best of our best from Oct. 4 to 9, 2010.
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
2010: The Wages of Sin
If the state needs money to balance its budget, it should look first to sin taxes on gambling, alcohol and marijuana.
Posted in
Higher Education
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Thevenot on the fastest-growing charter school chain in Texas, Hu on the continuing legal fights between tort reformers and trial lawyers over the state’s windstorm insurance pool, Hamilton on the push for accountability in Texas colleges, Philpott on legislative skirmishing over federal education funds, Grissom on misdemeanor convicts choosing jail time instead of probation that’s more expensive for them but cheaper for the state, M. Smith on Bill Flores’ challenge in what’s billed as the hottest congressional race in the country, Ramshaw looks at scandals that have put some otherwise safe statehouse incumbents in deep electoral trouble, yours truly on the closest and ugliest race on the statewide ballot and Galbraith and Titus on pollution from idling vehicles and why it’s so hard to control: The best of our best from September 27 to October 1, 2010.
Posted in
Economy
A Schoolyard Brawl
Tension between Texas and the federal government has been a major focus of Rick Perry’s re-election campaign. But on Monday, two top Democratic leaders in the Texas House ganged up on Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and, by proxy, the governor over the recent federal education funds fight. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
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Public Education
In Perfect Harmony?
Harmony Public Schools is the largest and fastest-growing charter school network in Texas, with eight new schools open this year and a total of 33 schools statewide serving about 16,500 students. Founded by Turkish academics, Harmony boasts small classes, a worldly faculty with advanced degrees and outstanding TAKS scores — which is why, perhaps, it’s one of just three charter operators given permission by the Texas Education Agency to open new schools without going through the usual bureaucratic channels.
Posted in
Public Education
Slideshow: Harmony in Education
Photographer Wenjing Zhang’s shot this portfolio on the campus of Harmony Charter School of Advancement in North Houston.
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Public Education
HuTube: The SBOE Debate on Islam in 70 Seconds
For our latest HuTube post, we picked out memorable testimony from Friday morning’s five-hour State Board of Education debate. SBOE members ultimately approved a resolution instructing publishers to limit a perceived “pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias” in Texas textbooks.
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Public Education
TribBlog: Islamapalooza
After a spring filled with bitter culture wars over textbooks, the Texas State Board of Education reopened the fight today with — what else? — a fight over alleged “pro-Islamic/anti-Christian” bias in Texas textbooks.
Posted in
Public Education
SBOE Will Vote on Sects Education
The State Board of Education is getting set to vote later this week on a resolution that would call on textbook publishers to avoid a “pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias” in Texas textbooks. As Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, the matter may be more about symbolism than practical change.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Oprah Gives $1M to Houston Charter
Oprah Winfrey will give the YES Prep charter school network $1 million today. She will present the gift on this afternoon’s epsiode of her show, which explores the documentary film Waiting for Superman, according to a YES Prep press release.