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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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Texas Legislature 2021
GOP lawmakers want to ban “woke philosophies” like critical race theory in Texas schools
Gov. Greg Abbott has called for expanding the state’s civic education curriculum, but the House and Senate are quickly advancing bills that would restrict the discussion of current events and public policy in the classroom and prohibit critical race theory in public schools.
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Point of Order
Point of Order: What we learned from a year of disruption to public education in Texas
In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to LaTonya Goffney, the superintendent of Aldine Independent School District, about public education’s disrupted year — pivoting online, learning loss, budget woes, and what it will take to put the whole thing back together by fall.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas lawmakers consider bill that would prevent schools and workplaces from discriminatory bans on dreadlocks, other hairstyles
After holding a press conference on Tuesday, proponents of the CROWN Act to ban hair discrimination finally received a committee hearing on the bill Thursday morning. Several students, parents and workers testified before members about their experiences being targeted for wearing natural hair.
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Texas Legislature 2021
A Texas economic incentive offers massive tax breaks to companies, but its renewal isn’t a done deal
Chapter 313, a decades-old law designed to lure companies to Texas with property tax breaks, expires in 2022. Lawmakers looking to renew it face opposition from critics who say it’s unfair to many Texas schools.
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Politics
Texas releases $11 billion of $18 billion in federal stimulus money for public schools
The newly released funds come after educators and state Democrats urged the governor to unlock the pandemic relief money as schools plan their budgets for the next school year
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Public Education
Dallas schools move to rewrite disciplinary rules that hit Black students hardest
Instead of suspending students for minor disciplinary infractions, the state’s second-largest school district plans to set up in-school options by harnessing technologies that became common educational tools during the pandemic.
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Public Education
Congressional Democrats condemn Abbott for not releasing billions in federal stimulus dollars intended for Texas public schools
As Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders continue to delay the arrival of billions in education stimulus funding for Texas schools, Texas Democrats in Congress asked the Department of Education to pressure the state to send federal funds to schools as quickly as possible.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Family fights anti-trans bills at Texas Capitol: “I will walk through fire to see my child be happy”
Lisa Stanton and her daughter, Maya, say the slate of anti-trans bills at the Legislature could force them to move out of state. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast.
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Public Education
Austin ISD risks losing $5 million in state funding if more students don’t attend final weeks of school in person
Earlier this school year, the Texas Education Agency established guidelines that each school district must follow to qualify for the state’s hold harmless funding. Some districts, like Austin, are now at risk of losing funds.