Can Texas retain and train more teachers?
In this week’s episode of the TribCast, Matthew and Eleanor ask the question: Are Texas teachers OK? Full Story
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![Substitute teacher Karie Houchin reads to a second grade classroom at Wanke Elementary School in north San Antonio on March 9, 2012.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
See what each Texas state employee is paid: Search our updated database.
The Texas Tribune’s database of Texas state employees’ compensation is updated to represent salaries as of April 1. Full Story
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The Texas Legislature is having big battles over gender and sexuality. Track them here.
Lawmakers are quietly pushing bills that would limit access to bathrooms and measures preventing trans people from changing government documents. Full Story
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![Attendees wave a trans flag while marching with over 300 activists and supporters from the Bexar County Courthouse to Crockett Park in “March for Us,” San Antonio's third annual celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility, on Saturday, March 29, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.]()
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String of law enforcement suicides rattles first responders and exposes gaps in state support
Four people tied to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office committed suicide recently, calling attention to ongoing mental health struggles among law enforcement. Full Story
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![Dustin Schellinger poses for a photo on Sunday, April 6, 2025 in Coppell, Texas. After loosing two close friends to suicide within six months of each other, Schellinger found that there were not many resources for law enforcement who were struggling and sought to find an opportunity to help.]()
Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott gave Trump credit when Texas closed a border site for booking migrants. But arrests were already low.
Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas was able to close the Jim Hogg County facility because of Trump’s immigration policies. Records reveal that the reality is more nuanced. Full Story
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![A U.S Customs and Border Protection agent and Val Verde Sheriff’s deputy meet along a rural section of state border wall under construction Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, outside of Del Rio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
A message from our CEO, Sonal Shah
Since 2023, we have worked diligently to reach new audiences in Texas, increase trust in our work and expand into local news. At the end of this year, with a strong leadership team in place, I will be transitioning. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune CEO Sonal Shah speaks with members and festival attendees during a happy hour at The Texas Tribune Festival 2024, in downtown Austin, Texas, on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2024.]()
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Five news organizations join Texas Tribune and ProPublica investigative initiative
El Paso Matters, Fort Worth Report, Houston Chronicle, The Texas Newsroom and WFAA will join us to support accountability journalism in Texas. Full Story
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Texas Republican lawmakers unwilling to change abortion laws to address doomed pregnancies
For the first time since Texas outlawed nearly all abortions, lawmakers are clarifying the “life of mother” exception. But they don’t plan to address cases where the fetus won’t survive. Full Story
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![Taylor Edwards poses for a portrait in the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2025. In 2023 (?), Edwards had to travel out of the state to receive an abortion after learning the child she was carrying would not survive the pregnancy.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
To avoid a water crisis, Texas may bet big on desalination. Here’s how it works in El Paso.
Desalination can create millions of gallons of fresh water a day. But it is expensive and there are many environmental concerns. Full Story
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![An illustration of a glass of water, superimposed over reverse osmosis filters from El Paso's Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant.]()
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$337 billion, two-year budget gets Texas House approval
The lower chamber’s plan largely aligns with the Senate’s proposal and puts billions toward teacher pay, border security and property tax cuts. Full Story
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![House Parliamentarian Sharon Carter, left, listens as state Reps: Cody Vasut, Richard Hayes, Tom Oliverson and Trey Martinez Fischer, negotiate in the Texas House on April 10, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to create a Texas Homeland Security Division passes state Senate
Senate Bill 36, a priority bill for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, would create an office within the Department of Public Safety focused on immigration enforcement, organized crime and threats to state infrastructure. Full Story
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![DPS airboats on the bank of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, seen from Piedras Negras, on June 6, 2024.]()
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Toilet to tap: El Paso is about to embark on a whole new way to save its limited water supply
El Paso’s dry climate — it rains just 9 inches annually — is one of the reasons the city has taken water management so seriously. Full Story
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![Contractors work on expanding the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant in El Paso on March 5, 2025. By 2028, the utility expects treated wastewater from the plant to be further purified at the new Pure Water Center next door to produce up to 10 million gallons of drinking water.]()
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Budget day in the House: Texas lawmakers approve $337 billion spending plan
Among the hundreds of amendments were ones that focused on school vouchers, the attorney general’s office and the Texas Lottery. Full Story
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![Texas House of Representatives Members convene in the House Chamber in Austin on April 10, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Federal public health cuts could cost Texas $700 million
State and local health agencies are having to cut programs and staff to make up the loss and more cuts could be coming. Full Story
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![A funding meeting at the Texas Department of State Health Services building in Austin on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Among the topics discussed were concerns regarding federal funding and a current measles outbreak in parts of Texas.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
State offers specific measles guidance for 10 West Texas “outbreak” counties
State health officials added four more counties to what they consider “outbreak areas” and advise those visiting or living in those counties to consult measles vaccination guidance for those areas. Full Story
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![Signs inform people of measles prevention and testing at the Gaines County Court House in Seminole on Sunday on April 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Verifying hand-counted ballots in Texas elections may be easier under GOP bill
The proposal would require counties who opt for hand counts to use ballots that can be scanned and tabulated by a voting machine. Full Story
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![Election workers count ballots by hand inside of The Edge in Fredericksburg on Mar. 5, 2024. Early voting ballots for the Republican primaries were hand counted on Election Day at this location.]()
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Renewable energy companies face little regulation in Texas. A state lawmaker wants to change that.
The legislation would put new requirements on wind and solar companies that oil and gas companies in Texas do not face. Full Story
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![Landon Terry unloads feed from his ranger for the sheep he tends to at the Enel solar farm in Haskell County on Oct. 20, 2023.]()
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Texas’ clarifying abortion bill draws criticism
While Democrats and abortion access advocates pushed to ensure pregnant women aren’t criminalized, some conservatives questioned whether this bill is needed. Full Story
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![An empty emergency room at Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton on August 3, 2021.]()
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Eagle Pass park reopens more than a year after the state seized it for border security
The Texas Department of Public Safety and National Guard presence has largely disappeared from Shelby Park, which sits next to the Rio Grande. Full Story
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![Operation Lone Star activity at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass on Jan. 18, 2024.]()
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Texas Republicans take aim at public transit in two major cities
The Texas Legislature is considering bills that transit officials warn could hamper public transportation in the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth regions. Full Story
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![A Dart bus lies idle at a stop near Westmoreland Station in Dallas on Feb. 2, 2020.]()
Credit: Duy Vu for The Texas Tribune