After 7 years of state oversight, Texas’ takeover of Marlin ISD starts winding down
The transition at the Waco-area school district will shed light on how a democratically elected school board resumes control after a takeover. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e98b64d520682fe9dcb5df2b4aba5531/082923_StateBoardOfEducation_02.jpg)
-
![Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, far right, answers questions from State Board of Education members during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023 at the William B Travis Building in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas children are still struggling with math after the pandemic. Some schools are trying a new approach.
Policy experts worry students will fall short of the state's future workforce needs. Educators hope the new curriculum will help them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0e79f88965ff23cab1fec7ba3e9e9c8f/0205%20Math%20Scores%20AS%20TT%2008.jpg)
![Third grade teacher Eran McGowan helps students work through math problems at the Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy in Dallas, Texas on Feb. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Border security overpowers school vouchers and Paxton impeachment in Republican Texas House primaries
Despite all the hubbub about vouchers and the attorney general’s impeachment, it’s still about the border. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ab66e33460d906e25f5160abf264f881/GOP%20Border%20Ads%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Texas Republican state House ads touting the border as a central election issue. Clockwise, from top left: Mark LaHood, challenger for HD-121; Joanne Shofner, challenger for HD-11; Chris Spencer, challenger for HD-1; and Gary VanDeaver, HD-1 incumbent.]()
Credit: Campaign videos -
Active shooter training: State-specific requirements for schools and law enforcement
No states mandate annual active shooter training for police officers, according to an analysis by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and FRONTLINE. In comparison, at least 37 states require such training in schools, typically on a yearly basis. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6bdf6b0ffd5b10dffc39a5941fc259d8/Santa_Fe_high_School_crosses_REUTERS.jpg)
![A man writes a message on a cross at a makeshift memorial left in memory of the victims killed in a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, on May 21, 2018.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman -
Despite grand jury investigation, officers may not face charges in Uvalde shooting response
Local prosecutor Christina Mitchell last month convened a grand jury to investigate police officers’ delay in confronting the gunman at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f6a5cb60b2b0220ef46029ed76776294/Scene%20Setter%20KGB%2019.jpg)
![Texas State Trooper vehicles are stationed outside the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on June 2, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Feds asked to overhaul school discipline at North Texas school district after students jailed
The complaint claims Bonham ISD and a city court discriminated against both Black students and disabled students by creating a hostile environment at school. The groups also filed a separate complaint against Corpus Christi ISD with the Texas Education Agency. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cc34f122e7fd484c4cfb34ef52e971a3/Blanco%20Vista%20Elementary%20JV%20TT%2028.jpg)
![Students and teachers walk between classes at Blanco Vista Elementary School in San Marcos on Aug. 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
From couch surfing to sleeping in a car: What one teen’s story tells us about homelessness in rural Texas
Georgia DeVries, an East Texas 17-year-old, shared her experience living in a car for one month last year on TikTok. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9d579e82e0acf5acff9b7512df840c89/0118%20Homeless%20Teen%20LN%20TT%2018.jpg)
![Georgia DeVries, 17, at a Lufkin-area park on Jan. 18, 2024. Teens in rural areas experiencing homelessness like DeVries face a dearth of services available in cities and often go uncounted.]()
Credit: Leslie Nemec for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Education Agency takes over La Joya ISD after investigating school board for fraud and conflicts of interest
The TEA appointed a “board of managers” to replace the district’s school board trustees and named a new superintendent. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/89957c358e9bc01cf48b9cad76048b69/La%20Hoya%20ISD%20MKC%20TT%2001.jpg)
![The Texas Education Agency has replaced the entire school board of La Joya Independent School District.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans who defied Gov. Greg Abbott on school vouchers face mounting primary attacks
As promised, the governor is going after members of his own party after some of them tanked his top legislative priority. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c8c91efdb0ad40e462b48ae814603eb1/1007%20Boot%20Vouchers%20Rally%20JS%2041.jpeg)
![A protester, left, pauses to leave a boot at the steps of the Governor's Mansion during a rally to "boot vouchers" on Oct. 7, 2023. Hundreds gathered to protest two days before a special session was slated to begin on Oct. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
An East Texas school district’s flagpole raises questions about America’s separation of church and state
The LaPoynor school district frequently flies a Christian flag, but may not be running afoul of the Constitution because it says students are choosing to raise it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2f1ca66e369b502b6665badfb036dfc4/0118%20LaPoyner%20ISD%20LN%20TT%2004.jpg)
![A solid purple flag flies alongside the U.S. and Texas flags outside of LaPoynor School, part of LaPoynor ISD, in LaRue on Jan. 18, 2024.]()
Credit: Leslie Nemec for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ new school safety law mostly addresses the Justice Department’s advice. But funding fixes is still an issue.
Lawmakers passed House Bill 3 last year to address some of the issues that led to the botched police response during the Uvalde school shooting. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4657701c33956abe6aba9f8133a03674/0118%20Uvalde%20DOJ%20CS%20TT%2011.jpg)
![Memorial crosses outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. The now-closed school was the site of the May 2022 mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde victims’ families get official acknowledgement of botched shooting response — but some want criminal charges
Some relatives of the 21 people killed in Texas’ deadliest school shooting are demanding criminal charges after federal officials say delayed police response cost lives. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c7317e1740ca7a81560252b1fc57c4da/0118%20Uvalde%20DOJ%20Presser%20CS%20TT%2016.jpg)
![Kimberly Mata-Rubio, mother of Alexandria Rubio, one of the children killed in the 2022 Uvalde mass shooting, speaks to media after DOJ officials detailed failures in the law enforcement response to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Appeals court blocks Texas from enforcing book rating law
Plaintiffs claimed that the 2023 law, which required book vendors to rate the explicitness of sexual references in materials sold to schools, was unconstitutionally broad. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a9371983e099b00ee03d7abee4b189f8/Book%20File%20LW%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Vandegrift High School's library on March 2, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
School voucher supporter gave Gov. Greg Abbott $6 million in December
The contribution is the largest single campaign donation in Texas history, according to Abbott’s campaign. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/20cc12288fbab53d9afba1cd119b3fe5/0301%20Governors%20Cup%20LS%2011.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott answer questions from the press after receiving the state’s eleventh consecutive Governor’s Cup, awarded to states with high job creation rates and business growth, at the Governor’s Mansion on March 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ school ratings remain in limbo as the state and school districts fight over how strict the grading should be
Dozens of school districts sued the Texas Education Agency last fall, claiming revisions to the state’s accountability system would hurt them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/490cffb755af85c90b24f92bd05c06e0/STAAR%20PYH%20TT%2001.jpg)
![STAAR themed decorations adorn the hallways of Wharton Elementary School in Wharton on April 21, 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Grieving Houston-area students’ well-being at stake as federal COVID-19 funds fade
The federal stimulus money that helped fund many mental health positions in Texas schools will end in the fall of 2024. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e416a1c019c12df60b95c4428dcb292c/HL%20HISD%20COVID%20MDJ%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Laura Ortega visits her husband Eliberto Ortega’s grave on Día de los Muertos along with their seven-year-old son to pay their respects, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, in Houston. Eliberto died of cardiac arrest while sick with the coronavirus in July 2021. (Marie D. De Jesús / Houston Landing)]()
Credit: Marie D. De Jesús/Houston Landing -
Vouchers, border security, abortion: The issues you heard about in 2023 will continue to be hotly debated in 2024
After nearly a year’s worth of legislative sessions, several issues are poised to dominate Texas politics this year. Here’s a look at how things ended on several fronts last year — and where they’re headed next. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d204b611a5ae34a1c731f5e8db1845b3/Capitol%20File%20Oct%2020%20EL%20TT%2018.jpg)
![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Diversity offices on college campuses will soon be illegal in Texas, as 30 new laws go into effect
Other new laws make changes to the tax code, criminal justice and health care systems. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5c973c11a32e66e51c3d4146d539dbe9/San%20Jacinto%20Campus%20MS%20TT.jpg)
![Students head to class on the second day of the semester at San Jacinto College's North Campus in Houston on Aug. 26, 2014.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texans grapple with numerous challenges, yet many are actively seeking solutions
Across the state, people are looking for ways to make Texas a better place to live as they tackle hunger, rural “brain drain,” health care obstacles and other impediments. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cd9f1ac9c40f7261a20663f3c4d6fc2a/0629%20Mine%20to%20Garden%20JT%20TT%2014.JPG)
![Volunteers prepare fresh vegetables donated by the Dewey Prairie Garden for distribution at the Lord’s Pantry of Leon County in Buffalo, Texas, on June 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Reports about police actions in U.S. mass shootings lack standardization and often leave unanswered questions
A lack of national standards leads to wide variability in after-action examinations of law enforcement’s response, ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and FRONTLINE found. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/346f0f8b870cc36972cbaa7f3490780c/uvalde%20aar_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_quality_95_embedColorProfile_true.jpg)
![After-action reports can vary widely in what they examine and what information they release because there is no national standard for how they should be conducted.]()
Credit: Compilation image by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica