The latest public education news from The Texas Tribune.
Under a major new Obama administration initiative promoting early education, Texas is eligible for $308 million in federal money to fund full-day pre-kindergarten programs. But the money might never get here. Full Story
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The state’s new Expanded Learning Opportunities Council will be charged with developing a statewide action plan to improve and create extended learning opportunities in public schools. This story is part of our monthlong 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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Under House Bill 5, students entering high school this fall will take 10 fewer state exams than their classmates two years ahead of them. This story is part of our month-long 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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For parents and educators who want less classroom time spent on state exams, hopes rest on recently passed legislation, but it comes with a challenge: Texas likely must first obtain waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Full Story
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An extended drama over a controversial curriculum tool used by Texas public schools took a new turn Wednesday as Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst entered the fray with a letter to the State Board of Education and Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick pushed to add the issue to the special session agenda. Full Story
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Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority analysts recently discovered a large beehive in a tree near Austin's airport. To protect the honeybees, whose population is declining worldwide, the mobility authority asked a local beekeeper for help. Full Story
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UPDATED: The State Board of Education will take up the issue of whether school districts can continue to use lessons from a controversial state curriculum system at its September meeting. And the Texas Attorney General's office, along with Education Chairman Dan Patrick, has requested an official state audit of the program. Full Story
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After a report from the State Auditor's Office pointed out flaws in the Texas Education Agency's oversight of a $462 million testing contract, the agency said Tuesday it will "immediately" implement new monitoring guidelines. Full Story
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As educators welcome the coming changes in state testing requirements, some school districts are looking ahead at another part of recently passed education reform. The state is expanding the courses that will count toward a high school diploma. Full Story
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This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: The end of the special session is in sight, the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune polls are out and a judge says new school finance litigation case will begin in January. Full Story
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When a fellow senator voted against the state budget because certain programs weren't funded, he forgot to mention that he was directly responsible for those funding decisions. Full Story
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With the help of a new law, the Dallas Independent School District is designing a program that will funnel money saved when students graduate early into expanding pre-kindergarten offerings. Full Story
Texas voters favor banning abortions after 20 weeks of a pregnancy, but they remain split on the permissibility of abortions in the state, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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After hearing brief arguments on whether to reopen evidence in the school finance case because of laws passed during the legislative session, state district court Judge John Dietz announced Wednesday that a new, six-week trial will begin in January. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry issued more than two dozen vetoes Friday, including a line-item veto that wipes out funding for the Travis County prosecutors who investigate government fraud and public corruption. He also vetoed a bill that would have had Texas law mirror gender wage protections in the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Full Story
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Flanked by high school cheerleaders, a rabbi and an off-duty Santa, Gov. Rick Perry ceremonially signed legislation Thursday clarifying that school districts can acknowledge traditional winter celebrations. Full Story
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The former House public education chairman on the politics of education policy in Texas, what's next in the school finance trial and why he doesn't like the word "voucher." Full Story
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High school students won't have to retake standardized exams they failed in the six subjects that newly signed House Bill 5 eliminates from the state's testing requirements, the Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday. Full Story
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A complaint being filed with the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to declare that a Dallas County court’s process of prosecuting truancy as a crime is unconstitutional. But officials in the county say the initiative has been a model of success. Full Story
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After the second year of a new statewide assessment program, Texas students' scores on standardized tests remain roughly the same, according to new data released by the Texas Education Agency. Full Story
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