The latest school finance news from The Texas Tribune.
A final decision in the school finance trial against the state involving more than two-thirds of its districts and charter schools likely won’t happen until after the lights go out in the 83rd Legislature. But that doesn’t mean what’s happening inside of the courtroom now won’t have an impact on policy under the pink dome. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, unveiled their school choice legislation, without many financial details and hardly a word about vouchers. And last week's schoolhouse shootings in Connecticut prompted Texas legislators to propose changes in the state's gun laws. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Dan Patrick gave the first details of what they promised would be a wide-ranging set of proposals for public education policy during the upcoming legislative session. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, incoming state Reps. Cecil Bell Jr., Giovanni Capriglione and Mary Gonzalez talked about school finance, standardized testing and the prospect of school choice legislation in the 83rd Session. Full Story
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Since 1984, Texas has faced six lawsuits over public school funding. Over the years, a chorus of conservative voices has posed another fix for the school finance problem: Why not just change the duties under the state Constitution? Full Story
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The massive trial involving more than two-thirds of the state's school districts and most of its charter schools has been under way for two weeks now — and while the evidence will continue to pour in until January, the arguments of all seven parties, including the state, have taken shape. Full Story
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A report on government debt from Comptroller Susan Combs examines colleges and public school districts, the latter of which are responsible for a third of the money owed at the local level. Full Story
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After school district lawyers attacked Texas for underfunding public schools, an attorney for the state shot back, saying that decisions made at the local level — not the state — were to blame for school districts’ failures. Full Story
As the trial over how Texas funds its public schools kicks off, we've compiled all our school finance coverage — from the battles of the last legislative session to the latest developments in the case — in one place. Full Story
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In a video that ponders potential threats to the viability of high school football, Progress Texas PAC urges Texans to fight plans to institute school voucher programs. Full Story
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The state's biggest education deficit is in its fastest-growing population. If that persists, Hispanics will have problems operating at full potential in the Texas of the future. Full Story
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Some consequences of the Legislature's more than $5 billion budget cut to public schools — like a loss of morale and stress levels in the classroom — aren't easily measured. But the pressure on teachers may have more complex origins. Full Story
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Thanks to a new law, a consortium of school districts could offer a new way forward as policymakers address the increasingly heated opposition to the state's high-stakes standardized test-based accountability system. Full Story
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Parents are opening their pocketbooks to fund everything from outdoor classrooms to extra teaching positions in public schools when state and district money falls short. But the influx of private dollars concerns civil rights advocates who say it only exacerbates existing inequities in the public school system. Full Story
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Booming oil and gas production in the Eagle Ford Shale play has made property values soar — a sudden, surprising and sometimes stressful boon to some of the state's poorest school districts. Full Story
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By 2050, nearly two-thirds of Texas public school children will be Hispanic. The demographic shift is already under way in classrooms statewide, where schools work to improve the academic success of the students of the new majority. Full Story
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In this edition of the Weekend Insider: We check in with Jay Root on the road at the Republican National Convention, and Morgan Smith looks at the changing demographics in Texas public schools. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, throwing some red meat to conservatives after his bruising defeat at the hands of Tea Party darling Ted Cruz, has put private school vouchers and expanded “parental choice” back on the legislative agenda. Full Story
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The outgoing superintendent of Garland ISD on how to prepare students for college and the workplace, the weighty decisions coming up for state leaders, and standardized tests’ potential for “cognitive bludgeoning.” Full Story
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As the state and its independent school districts head to court again in October to debate school financing, it's still possible that the issue of a statewide property tax could be revisited. Full Story
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