Democrat Bill White said he won’t rely on “Soviet-style budgeting” and “hot air politics” if he’s elected governor, and said the state should make education its first priority and would be better off with a governor who’s got business experience when it comes to economic development.
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.
TribBlog: Restraints Bill Passes U.S. House
The U.S. House has passed the Keeping All Students Safe Act, a measure designed to protect students from abusive restraints in school settings.
The SBOE, Revised
The State Board of Education likely won’t be quite as much of a Christian Conservative flash point any more. What it will be, however, is anybody’s guess.
SBOE 12: Miller Loses to Political Unknown Clayton
With all precincts reporting, State Board of Education member Geraldine “Tincy” Miller has lost her seat to challenger George Clayton in the GOP primary for District 12.
SBOE 5: Tuggey Concedes to Mercer
Tim Tuggey conceded the race for the GOP nomination to incumbent Ken Mercer in State Board of Education District 5.
SBOE 9: McLeroy Loses Seat to Ratliff
With all precincts reporting, State Board of Education incumbent Don McLeroy has lost to challenger Thomas Ratliff in the race for District 9 by a razor thin margin — less than 1,000 votes.
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Ramshaw on the state’s quiet sharing of infant blood samples with the military and on the things Rick Perry’s opponents aren’t saying about him, Grissom on Farouk Shami’s surprising popularity in El Paso, Philpott on the political advantages of a job creation fund and how Debra Medina’s supporters are reacting to her “truther” comments, Hu on Debra Medina in the latest installment of Stump Interrupted, Thevenot on how the kids feel about the federal option of closing bad high schools, Rapoport on the newest mutation of the state’s pay-as-you-go transportation philosophy, and our roundup of party primaries in the last week before the election: Rapoport on HD-7, Ramsey on HD-11, Aguilar on HD-36 and HD-43, Philpott on HD-47, Thevenot on HD-52 and SD-5, Kreighbaum on HD-105 and one Supreme Court race, M. Smith on another, and Hamilton on the colorful Democratic candidates for Agriculture Commissioner. The best of our best from February 22 to 26, 2010.
Talking Back to the Feds
“Teachers should be chasing us around,” the Texas high school senior told the official from the U.S. Department of Education. “We shouldn’t be chasing them. But that doesn’t always happen here.”
TribBlog: More “Federal Takeover” of Texas Schools?
As Texas education officials predicted when objecting to federal Race to the Top grant rules, the feds may now be moving to tie billions more in federal funds to the adoption of national curriculum standards, according to an Education Week report.
The Old College Try
Since 1999, the number of “dual-credit” students — those who take college courses while still in high school — across Texas has ballooned from fewer than 12,000 to more than 91,000. It’s a trend that’s likely to continue as state and local policymakers search for ways to better align curricula and to push more kids to continue their education. “Schools have started to look at it as great for kids who might not have thought they were college material,” says an official at the Higher Education Coordinating Board. “It’s both a gifted-and-talented program and a college-accessibility program.”

