Lawmakers at a Texas Tribune Fest panel found common ground on school funding and teacher pay but took starkly different stances on “school choice.”
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
Facing declining enrollment and charter school competition, San Antonio and Plano consider closing campuses
School officials in San Antonio announced earlier this week that they are looking at closing about 20% of their campuses while Plano school officials are starting those discussions.
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Politics
Gov. Greg Abbott says special legislative session on “school choice” coming in October
The governor promised political consequences if lawmakers cannot pass legislation allowing for publicly subsidized school vouchers before March primaries.
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Politics
Texas made it illegal to punish students for dreadlocks. A school is testing the limits of the law.
The Barbers Hill school district prompted a new law meant to prohibit schools from punishing students with hairstyles associated with race. A recent student suspension sparks questions about the extent of the CROWN Act’s protections.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Ken Paxton verdict heightens political tension ahead of education special session
The Texas House and Senate were already far apart on “school choice.” Anger over the impeachment trial might make it even harder to find common ground.
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Public Education
An East Texas principal was arrested after paddling a student, renewing debate over corporal punishment
Texas is one of 17 states that still permits hitting, spanking and paddling in schools. Republican lawmakers stood by the practice earlier this year in part because they say it was permitted in the Bible.
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Public Education
Texas Education Agency delays release of annual school ratings
TEA said it needs to make adjustments to account for changes in students’ academic performance after the pandemic. The delay comes after several school districts sued to stop the agency from releasing school rankings produced under a new rating system.
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Public Education
Federal judge bars Texas from enforcing book rating law
House Bill 900 requires book vendors to rate all their materials based on their depictions or references to sex before selling them to schools. Vendors say the law aims to regulate protected speech with “vague and over broad” terms.
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New Texas Laws 2023
School safety, tutoring and hair: These are some of the new education laws that go into effect this year
Lawmakers failed to pass legislation on school vouchers or teacher raises this year, but they approved other education-related laws like an $800 million investment in high-quality instructional materials and new rules for students found vaping or using marijuana.
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Climate Change in Texas
Texas eighth graders will soon be required to learn about climate change. But not without a showdown over textbooks.
Texas is one of the few states that don’t already require eighth graders to be taught about climate change. That’ll change next fall.