Bills call for Texas teachers to be trained to administer lifesaving overdose drugs to students
Texas is attempting to address the fentanyl crisis gripping schools by having staff learn how to administer lifesaving medication. Full Story
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![Narcan nasal spray at an opioid educational training class with Callie Crow, the founder of Drew's 27 Chains, on March 31, 2022, in Caddo Mills.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
In Texas Senate hearing, education savings accounts face questions about accountability and impact on public schools
More than 380 supporters and opponents signed up Wednesday to testify on the proposal, which would allow parents to use state funds to send their children to private schools. Full Story
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![Supporters held signs during a Parent Empowerment Day event at the Capitol in Austin on March 21, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Parents share their outrage during first public meeting over Houston ISD takeover
The Texas Education Agency announced on March 15 that it would replace the current superintendent and its democratically elected school board with a new board of managers as soon as June 1. Full Story
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![Attendees of a TEA community meeting express their disapproval of the agency's takeover of Houston Independent School District at Westbury High School in Houston on March 21, 2023.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott organizes “school choice” rally at the Capitol
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has embraced Senate Bill 8, which will get its first committee hearing Wednesday. But House Speaker Dade Phelan hasn’t made school choice legislation a priority. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott high fives a young supporter after delivering a speech at a Parent Empowerment Day event at the Capitol on March 21, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmaker again tries to block discriminatory hairstyle bans in schools and workplaces
Texas lawmakers could prohibit race-based hair discrimination at schools and workplaces. At least 20 states have already passed similar legislation, according to a group that champions the laws. Full Story
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![State Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers, D-Garland, speaks with colleagues in the House Chamber on March 5, 2019.]()
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What happens when Texas takes over a school district like Houston ISD
When do state takeovers of Texas public schools or districts happen? How long can they last? We provide answers to some of the questions surrounding the takeover of Houston ISD. Full Story
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![Students outside North Forest High School in Houston.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Watch a conversation about school safety and the mass shooting in Uvalde
In this conversation moderated by Texas Tribune editor in chief Sewell Chan, panelists discussed lessons that must be learned after 19 children and two adults were fatally shot at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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Houston ISD families blast the state’s takeover of the district as an intervention that won’t improve student learning
Parents and students of the Houston Independent School District decried the state’s decision to take control of the school system. Despite the news, many questions remain about how it would affect them. Full Story
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![Mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner speaks to the press about the Texas Education Agency (TEA) takeover of Houston Independent School District (HISD) during a press conference in Houston, on Friday, March 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Education Agency will take control of Houston ISD in June
The announcement comes almost four years after the agency first moved to take over the district. Full Story
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![Millard House II, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, delivers the HISD State of the Schools Address in Houston on Friday, March 3, 2023. The luncheon celebrates distinguished alumni and showcases student projects.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Texas education agency ready to find new leaders for Houston school district, documents show
Texas’ education agency first moved to take over the district in 2019 after years of low student performance at a single Houston ISD high school. Critics said the district has made improvements since then. Full Story
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![(Left) Patricia Allen, a union organizer with Houston Educational Support Personnel, holds a poster along with her colleague against Texas Education Agency (TEA) takeover of Houston Independent School District (HISD) during a press conference regarding HISD's imminent state takeover in Houston, on Friday, March 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Texas families would get $8,000 in tax dollars to send students to private school in sweeping ‘parental rights’ bill backed by Lt. Gov.
The bill, which has the blessing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, will create new rules on how gender and sexual orientation is taught. It will face a tougher test in the House. Full Story
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![An empty classroom at Chapa Middle School in Kyle on Aug. 24, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
SXSW EDU panelists say the only solution to school safety is to address gun policy and mental health, not one or the other
Gun policy reform is the best way to address school safety, according to experts on a panel in Austin. They also cautioned against doubling down on surveillance technology. Full Story
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![Children arrive to Flores Middle School for the first day of classes in Uvalde on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
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Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s new priority bills focus on school safety, requiring districts to adopt active-shooter plans
More than nine months after the Uvalde school shooting, top GOP lawmakers maintain focus on school safety reforms and investments in mental health resources in hopes it will prevent future tragedies. Full Story
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![Mock weapons used to train educators in Harrold in 2018.]()
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Lawmakers could use $5 billion of a record surplus for raises, flood prevention and border operations
Budget proposals would boost state spending for the current budget cycle for projects ranging from mental health hospitals to state pay raises. This would leave $27 billion in surplus for the next two years. Full Story
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Texas Republicans have filed dozens of bills affecting LGBTQ people. Here’s what they’d do.
Texas lawmakers this year will debate whether to block transgender kids’ access to transition-related health care, classify businesses that host drag shows as sexually oriented establishments and limit public school lessons on sexuality and gender identity. Full Story
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![Members of Austin's LGBT community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots on June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Houston ISD braces for possible state takeover
Parents, teachers and retired HISD employees were among the many rallying Friday against an imminent midsemester district takeover by the Texas Education Agency. Full Story
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![Laurel Hays holds a poster against the Texas Education Agency (TEA) takeover of Houston Independent School District (HISD) during a press conference regarding HISD's imminent state takeover in Houston, on Friday, March 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Education Agency would have new power to enforce school safety plans under Senate bill
The bill, introduced months after the Uvalde school shooting, also allocates more funds to the state’s school safety allotment, which is money given to districts to improve campus security. Full Story
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![A police officer monitors Maplewood Elementary School in Austin the Monday morning following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Republican Texas lawmakers rally around bill restricting the college sports teams transgender athletes can join
Seventy-seven Texas House Republicans signed on as co-authors to state Rep. Valoree Swanson’s bill extending restrictions on transgender athletes to college sports. Gov. Greg Abbott has expressed support for the legislation, which is also a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Full Story
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![Track athletes at a school track meet.]()
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Mayor Sylvester Turner expects the state will soon take over Houston ISD
The Texas Education Agency has been in a legal battle to take over the state’s largest school district since 2019. Full Story
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![Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks at a panel moderated by Anna Palmer, CEO and co-founder of Punchbowl News, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 24, 2022.]()
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Business and legislative leaders push to replace expired tax break with a new one
Business groups warned lawmakers that Texas could lose business to other states without something to replace the so-called Chapter 313 tax break, which gave some companies big breaks on school taxes. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune
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