Do-it-yourself mental health: Community college students band together to pitch solutions
Students from Texas and across the country are getting help to generate new ideas for campus support systems — and to turn those ideas into reality. Full Story
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![Having dealt with mental health issues himself, Elijah Gregory is now working to create a support group for other students at North Central Texas College. He’s part of a national program that encourages college students to brainstorm new ways to address students’ mental health needs.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Elijah Gregory -
Five ways a funding overhaul has transformed Texas community colleges
More than a year after Texas’ House Bill 8 took effect, some schools have offered free tuition, grown dual credit programs or helped students’ credits transfer when they move on to four-year schools. Full Story
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![Jennifer Waldron, a Continuing Education instructor at Austin Community College, shows students where to put the electrodes when doing an EKG at ACC’s Leander campus on Oct. 4. The students were participating in a healthcare apprenticeship program for Baylor Scott & White employees.]()
Credit: Jack Myer for The Texas Tribune -
Interim UT-Austin president seeks to walk fine line between faculty and lawmakers’ concerns
Jim Davis told professors he’ll share their concerns with lawmakers about proposals that would increase oversight on curricula and hiring. Elsewhere on campus, former UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell criticized the bills. Full Story
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![UT-Austin’s interim president Jim Davis speaks during a university faculty council meeting on March 25, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Texas A&M can’t ban “Draggieland” drag show, federal judge rules
Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment. Full Story
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![Students and supporters gather on campus to protest the Texas A&M University Board of Regents' decision on Draggieland in College Station, TX, on Wednesday, March 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Ishika Samant for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ DEI bans: What to know about the term and the debate
Diversity, equity and inclusion has become highly politicized — and there’s no standard definition for what it is. Full Story
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![The Capitol dome is seen from the north side of the complex in Austin on March 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ DEI debate centers on a disagreement about whether programs perpetuate or prevent discrimination
Supporters say diversity initiatives close educational and income gaps born from a history of prejudice. Republican officials say they prioritize identity over merit. Full Story
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![Illustrated posters reading “We Belong Here” litter the Capitol’s rotunda floor during Texas Students for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s protest of HB1 Rider No. 186, which would defund DEI initiatives at public universities, on Mar. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas faculty testify against bills to screen universities’ curriculum for “ideological” bias
Lawmakers say several bills under consideration Thursday would “address the unchecked authority of faculty.” They would expand university governing boards’ oversight powers. Full Story
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![The UT system Board of Regents during a regular meeting in Austin on May 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
University of Texas System bans drag shows in campus facilities
The move comes a few weeks after the Texas A&M System issued a similar ban, which is being challenged in court. Full Story
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![Dulce Gabbana applies makeup on Angelo Rios, a university student, for Day of Drag at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, on Wednesday, March 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Ishika Samant for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers seek to transfer University of Houston-Victoria to Texas A&M system
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said Texas A&M is better positioned to grow the Victoria school and serve the region’s petrochemical and agriculture industries. Full Story
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![Students walk to class on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station on Nov. 15, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
University of North Texas and Rice University under federal investigation for “race-exclusionary practices”
The Texas universities are among dozens accused of violating the law by partnering with a group that had sought to increase diversity in graduate programs. Full Story
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![Rice University in Houston on March 11, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill would increase oversight of universities’ hiring, curriculum and compliance
Senate Bill 37 would create a state office to investigate complaints against universities and require governing boards to ensure courses don’t endorse certain ideologies. Full Story
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![View of the Administration building on the Texas Tech University campus on July 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
In lawsuit settlement, Texas Tech’s med school promises it won’t consider race in admissions
George Stewart sued Texas Tech University Health Science Center and five other medical schools claiming they rejected him in favor of lesser qualified students of color. Full Story
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![The Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Lubbock.]()
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Texas Southern University asks for $120 million to replace aging law school
Law students might lose financial aid if TSU does not address health and safety concerns about the building. Full Story
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![Students walk along the Tiger Walk through campus on the first day of class at Texas Southern University on Aug. 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Tech officials trying to determine what caused explosion and fires that prompted campus closure
A day after the incident in which green flames could be seen coming out of manholes, 40% of the university in Lubbock remains without power. Full Story
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![Firefighters work the scene after an explosion at LP&L Brandon Power Station sparked a campus-wide power outage on March 12, 2025.]()
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Texas A&M Board of Regents names Glenn Hegar as university system’s next leader
Hegar, who currently serves as Texas comptroller, will replace A&M Chancellor John Sharp in leading the 157,000-student system. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar speaks with Texas Tribune Editor-in-Chief Matthew Watkins at Studio 919 in Austin on Jan. 13, 2024.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Part of pro-Palestinian student art exhibit at UNT removed amid antisemitism complaints by state lawmakers
Five GOP lawmakers who targeted the exhibit also called for the cancellation of the “Palestinian Children and the Politics of Genocide” lecture, which is still scheduled. Full Story
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![Students walk the University of North Texas campus in Denton, TX on February 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas A&M System bans drag shows from its universities
The move sparked a new First Amendment fight between students and university administrators. Full Story
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![Drag queens Hanna Santanna and Lily Adonis Kline during a head-to-head lip-sync battle at the Draggieland show in Rudder Theater on Thursday March 28, 2024.]()
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Republican senators threaten Texas universities’ funding over DEI ban
In a letter, Sens. Brandon Creighton and Paul Bettencourt said they found “numerous” violations of the law, but didn’t provide specifics. Full Story
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![State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, chair of the Senate Committee on Education K-16, speaks at a hearing on Jan. 28, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature proposes $400M cut to higher ed as Dan Patrick threatens university budgets over DEI
At a public event last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said higher ed would get less funding if they don’t “kick DEI out of their schools,” a few weeks after lawmakers proposed a massive cut to public universities. Full Story
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![The Academic Building at Texas A&M University in College Station on Aug. 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Meredith Seaver for The Texas Tribune -
Texas wants the NCAA to start “sex-screening” its student athletes
The state lawsuit comes as more women athletes are being physically scrutinized to determine if they are transgender. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to attendees following a rally at the Tarrant County Republican Party Headquarters in Fort Worth on Jan. 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune