State government

Under new legislation, school districts for the first time can spend a portion of state “book” money on computer hardware and digital content. Some fear the explosion of choice will produce an erosion of quality content.

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Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, is switching parties, saying that ""President Obama and the Democrats in Congress just don't reflect the values of this district." That's a severe blow to Democrats hoping to win a majority in the Texas House.

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A clearer picture of Thursday afternoon’s events is beginning to shape.

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State psychiatrists are making crazy money. Of the 100 highest paid state employees, 45 are psychiatrists, most of them employed by the state’s 10 mental hospitals.

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Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is playing a high stakes game of will-she-won't-she. So should she or shouldn't she?

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As news of the Fort Hood shootings unfolds, we'll be adding links, maps, audio, photographs, and other information from around the web to this post.

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So what if he's no longer the chair of the State Board of Education? Self-described "religious fanatic" Don McLeroy has big plans for Texas education — and science is just the beginning.

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Your afternoon reading.

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Jennifer Howson, 21, was restrained dozens of times at her school in the northeast Texas town of Kemp, often sustaining scrapes, bruises and black eyes.

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Recommendation: Do not get swine flu. Tracking the vaccine is getting to be like figuring out what happened to all the TARP money.

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Your afternoon reading.

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Albert Alvidrez, a former governor of the Tigua tribe in El Paso, is mulling a run for the Texas Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Sen. Eliot Shapleigh. But having Alvidrez in the Senate might not earn the tribe another vote for gambling rights.

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“I represent a district that has 80 percent renters, 70 percent of people speaking a first language other than English, where there’s a high school with 42 languages and 40 percent turnover of the student body every year — now tell me how you plan to calculate the dropout rate,” Rep. Scott Hochberg said. “I will stipulate that it’s too big — let’s just start there. I wish we fought over solutions as much as we fight over the number.”

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Despite years of research, the true picture of dropout and graduation rates remains elusive, even the subject of cross words between researchers. The consensus: Far too many Texas public school students, particularly those from poor and minority families, don’t cross the high-school finish line.

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Texas school districts vary widely in how often they physically restrain students with disabilities – despite a shared state policy on when to use them. Use this interactive graphic to see how school districts compared during the 2007-08 school year, the most recent statewide data available.

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It could be a late night for the candidates in the Houston mayoral election, if early voting results are any guide.

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As candidates stack up to challenge her, state Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, said she will make a decision about running for the Texas Senate by Thanksgiving.

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Those watching the Perry-Hutchison brawl for hints of the GOP's future may be looking in the wrong place. A small race for the State Board of Education gives a glimpse into the party's inner-turmoil.

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The Tyler Morning Telegraph is reporting that the 16-year-old Tyler special education student who fatally stabbed his teacher in September (referenced in today's story on restraints) has been found competent to stand trial.

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The results of the first UT/Texas Tribune poll, which was in the field from October 20-27 and sampled 800 Texans who identified themselves as registered voters, shows Texas slowly turning their attention to the 2010 elections. Perhaps more to the point, they have become extremely skeptical about the direction of the federal government. Today we’ll focus on the election match ups and what they tell us about the state of play a little less than six months out from the March primaries.

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