There will be few consequences if parents worried about the health risks of in-person testing keep their elementary and middle school students in virtual learning at home. But high schoolers still must pass certain exams to graduate.
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
Speaker Dade Phelan shakes up Texas House leadership with new chairs on key committees
With assignments out, legislation that has been filed can be referred to committees for potential hearings. The committees overseeing public education, budget writing and redistricting are among those with new chairs.
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Public Education
There aren’t enough substitute teachers to step in when coronavirus keeps Texas teachers out of the classroom
Administrators, school staff and uncredentialed stand-ins are being sent into classrooms to cover for teachers who fall ill or have to isolate. But even those improvisations aren’t keeping classrooms fully staffed.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas Republicans want to keep transgender women out of women’s school sports teams
Lawmakers have filed legislation that would ban transgender girls and women who attend public K-12 schools, colleges and universities from playing on single-sex sports teams designated for girls and women.
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Reopening Texas Schools
Texas will require students to take the STAAR test in person
School districts can set up sites outside of their schools, including performing arts centers, hotels and recreation centers where they can “ensure equitable access and maintain test security.”
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Environment
Texas prepares to test for lead in schools’ drinking water for the first time
An updated EPA rule requires drinking water in elementary schools be tested for lead and copper — a mandate that emerged from the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.
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Point of Order
Point of Order: Funding Texas schools during a pandemic
In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to state Sen. Larry Taylor, chair of the Senate Education Committee, about whether it’s possible to fully fund last session’s school finance bill, learning loss, broadband access, the STAAR test and more.
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Point of Order
Point of Order: The Queen’s Gambit
In this episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, recorded on Jan. 15, 2021, Evan Smith interviews 25-term state Rep. Senfronia Thompson about COVID-19, race, public ed and that whippersnapper Dade Phelan.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas schools are wary of losing funding gains lawmakers provided in 2019
A school finance bill in 2019 boosted funding for districts, but the pandemic has since added layers of financial uncertainty.
Sponsor Post
Our state won’t recover until our public schools recover
By Todd Williams, Chairman and CEO of The Commit PartnershipThe Commit Partnership works collaboratively to help solve the biggest systemic education related challenges in Texas.From a small apartment, a kid walks to Milam Elementary in Dallas ISD. His family car has broken down — again — but he doesn’t want to be late because his […]