Districts like Pflugerville ISD, which is struggling with a $12 million deficit and weighing school closures, say the pandemic and rising inflation have eroded the value of the state’s last effort to overhaul its public education finance system.
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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LGBTQ+ Texans
Texas House speaker addresses prospects of anti-LGBTQ bills, gun legislation and casinos
At the start of his second term leading the lower chamber, Dade Phelan talked to reporters about several legislative issues that will be decided this year.
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Criminal Justice
Watch: After the Uvalde shooting, one Texas school district increases focus on mental health
Round Rock ISD is thought to be among the first school districts in Texas where social workers and police officers work directly with one another to provide mental health support to students.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Two Texas bills would restrict lessons about sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools
The legislation closely mirrors a Florida bill passed last year, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which detractors say would further isolate LGBTQ students and open teachers and school districts to legal risks.
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Public Education
Lubbock-Cooper ISD passed a resolution denouncing racist bullying in schools. Parents say it’s a publicity stunt.
Students reported enduring racial slurs, the sounds of whips cracking and monkey noises as they walked down school hallways.
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Rural reproductive health in Texas
For teens in Deep East Texas, accessing sex education and contraception is next to impossible
In conservative Sabine County, it’s hard for teens to access contraception or sex education beyond lessons on abstinence. The Deep East Texas region has one of the highest teen birth rates in the state.
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Public Education
Texas greenlighted a felon to train school board members. Now education officials are examining their rules.
Records show James Dunn was convicted twice for defrauding federal government agencies. He registered his school board training, which he described as an alternative to “woke” programs, with the Texas Education Agency this fall.
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Uvalde school shooting
After Uvalde shooting, Texas senators recommend better mental health care access and school security
The committee urged lawmakers to pay special attention to rural areas. But its lone proposal on guns would not have made a difference in the Robb Elementary shooting.
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The Texas Tribune-ProPublica Investigative Unit
A Texas superintendent ordered librarians to remove LGBTQ-themed books. Now the federal government is investigating.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has opened what appears to be the first-of-its-kind investigation into the Granbury Independent School District after it banned school library books dealing with sexuality and gender.
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Uvalde school shooting
Records reveal medical response further delayed care for Uvalde shooting victims
Previously unreleased video, audio and interviews show for the first time how the medical response faltered after police finally confronted the Robb Elementary shooter.