TribCast: The conservative plan to eliminate school property taxes in Texas
On this week’s episode, we speak to the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s James Quintero, who has been at the center of the debate over property taxes this week. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the recent 88th Legislative Session to an audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offices in Austin, on June 2, 2023. Abbott recounted policy victories in regards to fentanyl and the border crisis, as well as limiting gender-affirming care and banning DEI practices in higher education. Abbott ended the event by promising to call a special session for school choice, after the current special session for property tax resolves.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
No teacher raises. A failed school voucher push. Armed guards. Here’s what changed for public education this legislative session.
Lawmakers sacrificed school funding to block school vouchers, but the issue could be debated again in a special session. Districts will get new funds for school safety, though Uvalde families were ultimately left disappointed with inaction on gun restrictions. Full Story
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![Students in Mrs. Cazares' third-grade class on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary on Sept. 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Education Agency picks Mike Miles for Houston ISD superintendent as state takeover begins
The former Dallas ISD superintendent and a state-appointed board of managers will replace Houston’s elected school board in response to years of poor academic outcomes at a single campus in the district. Full Story
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![Texas Monthly editor and chief Brian Sweany moderates the “Superintendent Confidential" panel featuring Paul Cruz, Wanda Bamberg, Juan Cabrera, Mike Miles, and Brian Woods at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 20, 2014.]()
Credit: Stephen Spillman for The Texas Tribune -
North Texas lawmakers talk impeachment, property taxes, school choice
At a Texas Tribune event, Republican state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione said his vote to impeach Ken Paxton was akin to being a grand juror who found enough evidence to warrant a trial in the Senate. Full Story
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Watch a Texas Tribune conversation on the 2023 regular legislative session
In a live edition of TribCast, the Tribune’s weekly podcast, we discussed the outcomes of the regular session, what’s happening in the current special session and more. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott calls immediate special session to address property taxes and border issues
Abbott noted many bills that were passed during the regular session, which ended around 6 p.m. Monday, but he added that “many critical items remain” and will require multiple special sessions. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbot gives remarks during a United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Corpus Christi on April 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott signs into law CROWN Act banning race-based hair discrimination
Gov. Greg Abbott over the weekend signed into law a bill prohibiting race-based hair discrimination in Texas workplaces, schools and housing policies. It goes into effect in September. Full Story
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![Dakari Davis, an officer in the DART Police Department in Dallas, speaks about the racial discrimination he faced in the workplace due to his hair style during a press conference advocating for the passage of the CROWN Act, in the state Capitol on Apr. 13, 2023.
“In 2019 I was recommended for termination,” Davis said. “Not because I violated the oath I took to protect Texans. Not because I violated the trust of the community, but solely due to this ethnic hairstyle that I wear all before all of you today.”]()
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Lawmakers approve school safety bill that would require an armed person at every Texas campus
The bill comes in response to the Uvalde school shooting last year that left 19 children and two adults dead. Full Story
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![On The Mark Enhanced Tactical Training CEO Ray Dunn inside the Harrold ISD K-12 school where he teaches a gun training class for educators. The North Texas ISD was the first in the nation to arm teachers for safety in 2007.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Republican priorities on school choice, border fail, but late-night compromises resurrect others
Rushed agreements and suspended rules rescue legislation on the electric grid and economic incentives for companies, and work is still being done on a property tax proposal. Full Story
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![The state Capitol in Austin is seen behind parking garage lights on the evening of April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
No teacher raises, no vouchers: Lawmakers fail to reach compromise on school funding bill
The end of House Bill 100 is a bittersweet victory for public education advocates who vehemently oppose school voucher programs but lament that schools won’t get additional funds to pay for teacher raises or balance their budgets. Full Story
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![Students sit in the hall for a regular morning briefing before heading to their first class at Yes Prep West Campus in Houston on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
“Somber day” in Uvalde as community commemorates one year since Robb Elementary shooting
Numerous vigils and memorials in Uvalde marked one year since the massacre at Robb Elementary School. In what became the deadliest school shooting in Texas, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers and injured 17 others. Full Story
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![Destiny Esquivel, a cousin of Maite Rodriguez, embraces another family member beside the memorial cross for Lexi Rubio in the city plaza on the one year mark of the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde on May 24, 2023.]()
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Unlicensed religious chaplains may counsel students in Texas’ public schools after lawmakers OK proposal
Opponents fear the bill is a “Trojan horse” for evangelizing kids and will worsen the state’s mental health crisis through disproven counseling approaches. Full Story
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![Students walk to class in between class periods at Tenaha High School in Tenaha, TX photographed on November 11, 2022.]()
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A year after the Uvalde school shooting, officers who botched response face few consequences
A Washington Post investigation finds numerous higher-ranking officers who made critical decisions remain on the job. Full Story
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![Families of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting gather to attend a presser held by state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, where he introduced four new bills that will address qualified immunity for police officers, allow victims to sue the State of Texas, repeal the protection of the Lawful Commerce in Arms act, and create a permanent compensation fund for victims of school gun violence, at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 24, 2023.]()
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Bill requiring Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms fails in House after missing crucial deadline
Senate Bill 1515 was one of several legislative attempts by conservative Christians to center public life around their religious views. Full Story
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![The Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds in Austin on July 16, 2012.]()
Credit: Ariel Min/The Texas Tribune -
Listen: Through art, keepsakes and advocacy, families are making sure 21 Uvalde victims are not forgotten
Wednesday marks exactly a year since a mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. The community continues to grapple with the trauma and pain, and for those who lost someone that day, they’re determined to keep the memories of their loved ones alive. Full Story
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![Javier Cazares assembles his notes for his testimony as a poster of his daughter, Jackie, and other victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting stand against the wall beside him. Cazares and other family members wait for the Community Safety Committee to reconvene about bills relating to gun reform, at the state Capitol in Austin on April 18, 2023.]()
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Senate priorities on bail, Ten Commandments in schools stall out in Texas House as key deadline passes
The two chambers have been at odds over property tax relief and school choice, but on Tuesday night, those divisions spilled over into priorities the bodies had previously agreed upon. Full Story
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![Members of the House vote on the House floor during session at the state Capitol on April 11, 2023.]()
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Texas lawmakers OK bill that aims to keep sexually explicit material out of school libraries
Approved by both chambers, the bill is now on its way to the governor. Unless he vetoes it, the bill will become law, which means book vendors will have to assign ratings to books based on depictions or references to sex. Full Story
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![Vandegrift High School's library in Austin on March 2, 2022.]()
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Texas Senate again advances proposed restrictions on lessons about gender identity and sexual orientation
For the third time, the Senate is pushing a proposal critics say will ignore the existence of LGBTQ people in every grade level. Two other bills that contained similar language missed key legislative deadlines. Full Story
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![Students sit in art class at Lufkin High School in Lufkin, Texas, U.S., on Friday, January 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 Senate passes revamped school funding bill in last-minute bid to implement voucher program
Texas senators have latched education savings accounts to a school funding bill in a last-ditch effort to avoid a special session. But some House members are furious at the revamped version and have vowed not to let it become law. Full Story
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![Bonham Elementary School in San Antonio is an in-district charter with a lottery system. Third graders jump rope on the playground on May 9, 2018.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Watch a documentary about the Uvalde shooting from The Texas Tribune, Frontline and Futuro Investigates
The film, “After Uvalde: Guns, Grief and Texas Politics,” was broadcast nationally on PBS and is also available for streaming on The Texas Tribune and Frontline’s websites. Full Story
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![Promotional image for a documentary titled "After Uvalde: Guns, Grief and Texas Politics" by Frontline, The Texas Tribune and Futuro Investigates.]()
Credit: Frontline, The Texas Tribune and Futuro Investigates