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.”
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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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 […]
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Public Education
Jordan’s story: Isolated, anxious and failing online classes, an 11-year-old Texas boy considered suicide
Months of remote learning were hard on the Frisco ISD student. Like other schoolchildren across the state, he experienced mental health issues, in large part due to social isolation during the pandemic.
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Public Education
Where parents and students in Texas can turn for help with mental health concerns
Reports of depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide among Texas students are rising as the pandemic drags on. Here is a resource guide for those seeking help.
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Public Education
In San Antonio, an ambitious effort to expand pre-K is crumbling as parents shield their children from the pandemic
After years of work and tens of millions of dollars spent, about 90% of the city’s 4-year-olds were in pre-K programs. Now enrollment has dropped and the dream of reaching all San Antonio preschoolers is slipping away.
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Public Education
Texas unveils plan to have all students take STAAR online by 2022
The report comes on the heels of Texas signing two, four-year contracts totaling $388 million with companies to develop and administer the standardized tests.