Investigations into the Texas Lottery grow after courier controversy
AG Ken Paxton’s office joins two other investigations by state officials into the commission as one service suspends operations due to the agency’s ban. Full Story
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![Texas Lottery stand at an Austin convenience store on Feb. 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Who are the Mennonites in a Texas community where measles is spreading?
The group is part of a larger, loosely affiliated group of churches with varied beliefs and leadership structures — and with sometimes strained relations with authorities. Full Story
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![The Seminole Mennonite School on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Seminole.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Operaciones de ICE en Texas: Qué derechos tienen los inmigrantes
Abogados y grupos de inmigración recomiendan a los inmigrantes informarse sobre las acciones de la administración del presidente Donald Trump, como la expansión del uso de expulsiones aceleradas. Full Story
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![A migrant from El Salvador and her son take part in a caravan heading to the U.S. border, near Huixtla, Mexico November 27, 2021.]()
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New Texas Supreme Court chief justice calls for judicial raises, changes to bail laws
Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock embraced constitutional originalism, a judicial philosophy tied to conservatism, in addressing the Legislature. Full Story
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![Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock gets applause from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, left, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows as he starts the State of the Judiciary speech on February 26, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Thin majority of Texas House signs on to support voucher bill
The 75 co-sponsors plus the bill’s author would provide enough votes to pass Gov. Abbott’s top priority measure in the 150-seat House. Full Story
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![Students enter a classroom at one of the 11 Houston-area campuses of Yes Prep, a public charter school system serving 7,000 low-income students.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
First death in West Texas measles outbreak is unvaccinated child
More than 120 people across nine counties have been infected during the largest Texas outbreak in 30 years. Full Story
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![A measles testing sign in Seminole on Feb. 25, 2025. An outbreak in Gaines County has spread to other parts of the state.]()
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Texas has the highest rate of uninsured children, and it’s getting worse
Issues with Medicaid coverage, including long wait times, abrupt loss of coverage and lack of political will to expand it, have contributed to Texas’ high uninsured rate for children. Full Story
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![Houston pediatrician D. Maneesh Kumar talks with his young patient, Maya, who was born with a rare genetic disorder. Maya’s family relies on Medicaid to cover the expensive treatment and care she needs to stay healthy.]()
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High housing costs, inflation bite into Texas sales tax growth
Officials said the state’s higher cost of living means less state sales tax revenue, which makes up more than half of the state budget. Full Story
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![The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
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“We’re in competition”: An East Texas school district faces hard choices as education options grow
The Lufkin school district says it must do a better job of promoting itself amid growing competition from charter schools and homeschooling. Full Story
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![Students get onto a bus following classes at Lufkin High School in Lufkin on Jan. 27, 2023. Public school officials in rural areas like Lufkin face budget challenges because of proposed school choice legislation, which provides taxpayer-funded alternatives to sending a child to a local public school.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House unveils plan to cut property taxes, setting up fight with Senate
Lawmakers will debate how to spend $3.5 billion in proposed tax cuts, a legislative priority for Republican leaders. Full Story
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![Newly developed apartments sit next to older homes in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas on July 11, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Feds target “criminals and illegal immigrants” in Houston-area development, Abbott says
The Colony Ridge development has long been under scrutiny from conservative lawmakers, think tanks and influencers who cast it as a hotbed for undocumented immigrants and cartel crime. Full Story
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![An overhead view of the Colony Ridge development in New Caney on Oct. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves bill banning DEI in K-12 public schools
The bill would ban diversity, equity and inclusion policies related to hiring and programming, while creating ways for parents to complain about violations to the DEI ban. Full Story
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![Passing period at United South High School in Laredo on Oct. 23, 2018.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Lottery commissioner resigns as agency faces legislative scrutiny
Clark Smith, one of five members of the commission, stepped down Friday as lawmakers have raised questions about the role of lottery couriers and agency governance. Full Story
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![A Texas Lottery display at Winners Corner, a board game, lottery and gift store, in Austin on Feb. 20, 2025.]()
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Texas Lottery ticket sales to third-party services fuel controversy and questions about the agency’s future
While the Lottery Commission says it can’t regulate sales to couriers, lawmakers want changes after two major jackpots were won using those services. Full Story
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![Texas Lottery cards at a 7-Eleven in Central Austin on Feb. 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Rates of pregnancy-related sepsis and deaths grow in Texas after abortion ban
ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas’ abortion ban. Full Story
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Overhaul of schools’ STAAR test proposed by Texas House bill
The bill would require the state to reduce the test’s length, prioritize post-secondary preparation and launch a revamped version by 2026. Full Story
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![A calculator and a test sheet on a desk at Elsik High School in 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House wants to give public schools $220 more per student
The proposal, filed Thursday, comes well short of the increase school administrators and education advocates have been asking for. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School students take part in a class activity Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
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Under Texas House bill, value of education savings accounts would be tied to public school funding
The proposal sets a few possible points of contention between the House and Senate, including how much money should families get through the program. Full Story
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![Corina Pannabecker teaches first grade at Ogden Elementary in San Antonio on April 30, 2018.]()
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National leaders mount pressure campaign on Texas House GOP to pass voucher bill
Supporters of voucher-like education savings accounts are trying to press their advantage early and build a sense of inevitability. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks with Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, during ‘Parent Empowerment Night’ at San Antonio Christian School, in San Antonio, Texas, on February, 17, 2025. The governor has made the polarizing school voucher bill, Senate Bill 2, a top priority for this year’s legislative session.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Teacher Retirement System leader says Senate voucher proposal would not harm retirement funds
A recent budget analysis noted the Texas Senate’s voucher bill could affect the fund if it leads students and teachers to leave public schools. Full Story
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune
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