Texas bill to overhaul STAAR test clears the House but faces a skeptical Senate
House Bill 4 would make the test shorter and base scores on how students’ performance compares to national averages. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School 7th grade teacher Pricilla Martinez leads her class in an activity Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. STAAR testing begins across Texas on Tuesday.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
After a sometimes graphic debate, Texas House advances bill limiting kids’ access to sexually explicit books in libraries
The bill would bar those under 18 from checking out books with sexually explicit material without parental permission. Full Story
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![Ector County Library's fiction section includes novels, anime, science fiction, westerns, and more. Jacob Ford for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Jacob Ford for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ youngest learners are behind in math and reading. A pair of bills aims to get them back on track.
Students who are behind in third grade rarely catch up. Texas lawmakers want to intervene earlier. Full Story
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![At the Waco Central Library, Ellis Pittman, five, looks for a book to take home on April 5, 2024. Pittman had just started reading.]()
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Ken Paxton drops “critical race theory” lawsuit against Coppell ISD
The school district called the undercover videos that led to the accusations “heavily edited,” “manipulated” and “grossly misleading.” Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Republican Party of Texas convention on Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
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Lawmakers want to expand Texas’ teacher pay raise program. Many educators will still be left out.
The Teacher Incentive Allotment gives raises to teachers based on performance. But it leaves out many educators and school staff who contribute to students' success. Full Story
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![Temple, Texas - 4/17/25: JoMeka Gray teaches a class of kindergarteners at Kennedy-Powell Elementary in Temple, Texas. Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
School board races across Texas deal losses for many conservatives
Issues about control of book purchases and how curriculums teach race and gender have led to change on many boards, including Keller, Katy and Mansfield ISDs. Full Story
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![A Keller ISD school board meeting in Keller, TX on April 25, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Private school vouchers are now law in Texas. Here’s how they will work.
Texas will give participating families about $10,000 to pay for their kids’ private schooling. Other details about the program, set to launch in 2026, are unclear. Full Story
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![Governor Greg Abbott signs SB2 authorizing educational savings accounts (ESA's) helping parents pay private school tuition for their children during a ceremony at the Texas Governor's Mansion on May 3, 2025.]()
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Texas teachers, parents lose protection over “obscene” material
A fiery debate on the House floor Friday gave way to the Senate Bill 412’s final vote. Supporters say it’s needed to protect children. Full Story
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![The library at Blanco Vista Elementary in San Marcos on Nov. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
How Greg Abbott took a flailing school voucher movement and turned it into a winning issue
Abbott tapped into a powerful national conservative movement and his own campaign war chest to turn legislative races into multimillion-dollar affairs. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott takes a photo with students and staff after speaking about school vouchers at Parent Empowerment Night at Harvest Christian Academy in Edinburg on Feb. 6, 2025.]()
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Plans advance for $10 billion Exxon plastics plant on the Texas coast
Officials at a rural school district voted on Tuesday to begin developing a tax break agreement intended to draw Exxon to their stretch of the Gulf Coast north of Corpus Christi. Full Story
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![The Formosa Plastics plant in Point Comfort, in Calhoun Co., on March 20, 2019. Exxon Mobil wants to build a massive plastics plant nearby.]()
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A 20-hour wait to speak: A pre-dawn House panel takes up Ten Commandments bill
Dozens of people who signed up to speak were ready at 4 a.m. to debate whether public school classrooms should have to display the Ten Commandments. Full Story
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![The Ten Commandments, written out on a monument, sit outside the Texas Capitol on March 17, 2025.]()
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Texas House approves antisemitism bill in response to pro-Palestinian protests
The bill, which would require schools to use a definition of antisemitism when considering discipline for students, will soon head over to Abbott’s desk. Full Story
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![Protestors chant at Texas Department of Public Safety troopers as they begin to push students towards Guadalupe Street from the South Lawn during a demonstration in support of Palestinians in the Gaza conflict on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at the University of Texas in Austin.]()
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A now-discarded plan to split Keller ISD caused a stir. Lawmakers now want clear rules on how to divide districts.
A House bill would require school districts to hold an election before breaking into smaller entities. Full Story
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![The Texas House of Representatives Public Education Committee hears public testimony on House Bill 1481 relating to the use of personal wireless communication devices during school hours and activities in Austin on March 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Have questions about Texas’ new school voucher program? We have answers.
Get quick answers from our archive of school voucher reporting with our experimental AI assistant. Full Story
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![Children walk down a hall at Kennedy-Powell Elementary in Temple on April 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas students say K-12 DEI ban and other anti-LGBTQ+ bills threaten their safety, voice and mental health
Students are concerned the legislation could silence supportive teachers, dismantle safe spaces, lead to overenforcement and prevent honest conversations about identity. Full Story
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![Marshall Romero, 16, poses for a portrait outside of Alief Early College High School in Houston on Friday, April 25, 2025.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Texas education experts say stronger prep, higher pay key to solving teacher shortage
At a Texas Tribune event, education experts discussed challenges facing Texas public schools and potential ways to solve them. Full Story
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Private school vouchers head to Abbott’s desk to become law
The program will officially launch at the start of the 2026-27 school year. Full Story
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![From left: State Rep. Dustin Burrows, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at the Capitol in Austin on April 23, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas school districts got their first A-F grades in five years. See how your school did here.
The Texas Education Agency released the 2022-23 school year ratings on Thursday after a 19-month legal battle over how those ratings are calculated. Full Story
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![The Texas flags hangs at a classroom, on Aug. 7, 2024.]()
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1 in 5 Texas schools got a D or F rating under new performance standards
Failing grades for districts were made public for the first time since 2019. They showed schools with the poorest students were more likely to get a low score. Full Story
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![A Nimitz Middle School student raises their hand during class Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
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School districts stay quiet as lawmakers push to limit when they can sue the state
School leaders have privately criticized a bill that would make it harder to contest their performance ratings in court. But they did not testify against it to avoid lawmakers’ ire. Full Story
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![Tables are spaced out in a classroom at Ott Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 in San Antonio. The tables, which typically seat six to eight students, were arranged to seat four students and 16 total students in the classroom.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune