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.
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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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.
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Public Education
First day of school comes with mixed student emotions after Texas took over Houston ISD
Thousands of Houston-area students returned to radically different campuses Monday as a new era begins in Texas’ largest school district.
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Public Education
How a state effort to fund Texas schools equitably is shortchanging dozens of rural districts
For decades, the Texas comptroller’s office has double-checked property valuations across the state, which help determine how much school districts can levy in property taxes. But when state and county appraisers disagree, districts can end up with big holes in their budgets.
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New Texas Laws 2023
Will Texas’ new fentanyl awareness curriculum for public schools succeed where other anti-drug messaging failed?
Historically, anti-drug messaging in schools has failed to acknowledge the mental health reasons that youth self-medicate. Without that key lesson, advocates worry House Bill 3908 will be another D.A.R.E. campaign.
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Public Education
Despite post-pandemic improvements, STAAR scores show Texas students are still struggling with math and reading
Test results have gone up since the pandemic in both subjects, but math scores are still below 2019 levels and about half of Texas students read below the level appropriate for most children in their grade.
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Politics
Texas House committee report outlines possible path forward for school vouchers
The House blocked school vouchers during this year’s regular lawmaking session, but a report released Friday shows some members might be willing to approve a scaled-back version of the program that doesn’t compete with public schools for funds.
Sponsor Post
Raise Your Hand Texas® honors 100 legislators with inaugural Public Education Champion Award
Raise Your Hand Texas’ inaugural Public Education Champion Award recognizes legislators for their outstanding achievement and steadfast commitment to Texas public education during the 88th Legislative Session.
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T-Squared
T-Squared: Education coverage is at the core of our mission
Education is arguably the most important issue in Texas, as today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce and innovators. We are committed to expanding and deepening our education coverage.