Harris County leader wants voters to extend child care efforts as pandemic funding runs out
The debate over whether to ask voters to cover the program comes as the nation’s third-largest county faces a projected $270M budget shortfall. Full Story
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![Shelbi Adams spends her morning watching over children at Katherine Sage Temple Early Learning Center, on Tuesday February 25, 2025, in Diboll.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers propose replacing STAAR exam with three shorter tests
The tests would be administered at the beginning, middle and end of the school year. But the proposal’s fate is unclear with the House in limbo over a redistricting fight. Full Story
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![Students attend a math and reading workshop at a summer camp held at Dobie Middle School at July 23, 2025. The camp, hosted by Austin Voices for Education and Youth, hosts workshops to help students prepare for standarized testing.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
A fight to save an Austin middle school puts families at odds with Texas over how to rate schools
Legislators have a chance this summer to replace the STAAR test. What they come up with will decide the fate of schools like Dobie Middle School, where low test scores have pushed the Austin district to intervene. Full Story
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![AUSTIN, TEXAS - July 24, 2025: Carmen Mendoza hands out gift bags to campers as they head home. Austin Voices for Education and Youth hosts a summer camp at the Dobie Middle School for students that attend the three Austin ISD schools at risk of closure. Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
Mental health programs could bear the brunt of $600M federal cuts to Texas schools
Federal cuts and a lack of dedicated mental health funding from the state could erode programs to address chronic absenteeism, crises and more. Full Story
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![Louise ISD social/emotional counselor April Cubriel teaches students about different ways to be courageous as she visits a 2nd grade classroom at Louise Elementary School Monday, March 10, 2025.]()
Credit: Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman/ USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
Texas’ public ed funding boost brings some relief but erodes districts’ independence, school leaders say
A law providing $8.5 billion in new funding for Texas public schools lacks the spending flexibility that previously let districts address their campuses’ needs as they saw fit. Full Story
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![Hank Warner teaches a pre-advanced placement algebra course for ninth graders at Bowie High School in Austin.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Texas education board approves Native Studies course, skirting concerns about state’s K-12 DEI ban
The long-awaited vote survived objections from the panel’s most right-leaning Republicans, who criticized the lessons as “un-American woke indoctrination.” Full Story
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![Board of Education members sit during a State BOE meeting in Austin on Nov. 17, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
More parents sue to stop Texas’ Ten Commandments requirement in public schools
The ACLU has filed a new lawsuit on behalf of 16 parents of various religious faiths, the second such suit against the new law. Full Story
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![The 10 Commandments monument at the state Capitol in Austin on June 22, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich/ZUMA Press Wire via REUTERS -
Did Texas lawmakers do enough for children with disabilities? These child care advocates say no.
Lawmakers added $100 million to a child care scholarship program but failed to expand access to free preschool for children with disabilities. Full Story
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![A students watercolors at the Learning Tree childcare center in Yoakum, Texas, on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas students make gains in reading but struggle with math, STAAR scores show
The mixed-bag results showed early literacy improvements, a key indicator of future academic success, but underline the challenges of preparing children for STEM-related jobs. 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 -
Texas parents and teachers worry bills to root out liberal sway from public schools pave the way for conservative bias
Advocates say the bills will give parents more power over their children’s schools. Critics say they don’t give parents anything they didn’t already have and will only strain their relationship with teachers. Full Story
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![Rachel Preston, a French teacher, at the state Capitol on Friday, May 23, 2025.]()
Credit: Julia Zeddies for The Texas Tribune -
Texas high school students’ STAAR scores show gains in STEM fields, struggles in reading and literacy
Education policy experts say the results align with Texas’ workforce goals but note that students still need help. Full Story
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![A 9th grade student prepares for a pre-test in a program that provides support for students taking the STAAR test, at Elsik High School in Houston on April 19, 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas will begin a summer lunch program in 2027, but only if feds don’t raise costs
The program would give low income families an extra $120 per child for summer lunches, but federal debate about food benefits could endanger the program. Full Story
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![Bonham Middle School employees watch as students begin to gather for lunch in the school’s cafeteria Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
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A look at the wins rural Texas scored in this year’s legislative session
Lawmakers sought to close gaps in education and support funding for agriculture, disaster preparedness and health care this year. Full Story
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![The Texas State Capitol on March 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ undocumented college students no longer qualify for in-state tuition
Within hours of a federal lawsuit targeting Texas’ policy of letting undocumented students qualify for lower public tuition rates, the 24-year-old law was no more. Full Story
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![Students walk through campus at the University of Texas at Austin on Aug. 25, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott signs $8.5 billion public education funding plan into law. Here’s how it works.
The spending package will give schools more money for staff pay raises, operational expenses, special education and more. Full Story
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![A kindergartener's classroom at Kennedy-Powell Elementary in Temple, Texas.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
“I still lose sleep”: GOP Rep. Drew Darby reflects on voucher vote, THC ban and special session
The San Angelo Republican, at a Texas Tribune event, also weighed in on water and energy policy. Full Story
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From vouchers to a cellphone ban, this year’s lawmaking session brought transformative changes to Texas schools
An agenda driven by conservative priorities, schools’ financial duress and teacher needs led to an $8.5 billion boost, new discipline rules, more Christianity in classrooms and a DEI ban. Full Story
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![JoMeka Gray teaches a class of kindergarteners at Kennedy-Powell Elementary in Temple on April 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
School vouchers, THC ban, property tax cuts: Here’s what Texas lawmakers did in the 2025 regular session
The Legislature wrapped up without the same drama that defined the end of the last two sessions, with state GOP leaders checking off nearly everything on their to-do lists. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, looks out the window from the Texas House of Representatives chamber as the lawmakers debate on bills at the Texas Capitol, on Monday, May 26, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Education Agency extends Houston school district takeover through 2027
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath applauded the district for its improvements while citing the need for more time to “achieve lasting success for students.” Full Story
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![TEA Commissioner Mike Morath addresses the State Board of Education at the start of their meeting on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at the William B. Travis Building in Austin. Morath recommended the SBOE approve five new charter school systems in the state.]()
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How RFK Jr., Democrats and Republicans found common ground over food labels in Texas
Texas is poised to lead the country in an initiative to inform denizens of what’s in their food. Food industry experts say it’s going too far. Full Story
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![A woman pushes her shopping cart down an aisle at a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Buffalo, Texas, on June 29, 2023. According to clients of The Lord’s Pantry of Leon County, Brookshire Brothers is the only grocery store in the county which they describe as a food desert.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune