Analysis: COVID-19’s almost incomprehensible toll in Texas
We’ve lost a lot of Texans already and will surely lose more to the coronavirus. Doesn’t it seem like there should at least be a moment of silence? Full Story
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![Val Verde Memorial Gardens in Donna. July 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Tribune photojournalists on the front line: photography in a year of pandemic and unrest
Photojournalists are regularly in the thick of things when they cover stories, but 2020 has made their jobs even more difficult. Here's a look at the work of five Tribune photographers in this extraordinary year — and some of the gear they've used. Full Story
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![Personal protective equipment that Jordan Vonderhaar has used while covering protests and the COVID-19 pandemic. -]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas reopenings tied more to COVID-19 severity than to spread
Leaving behind their focus on the spread of the coronavirus, Texas leaders now say hospitalizations will guide their decisions on how to regulate social distancing at businesses and cultural centers. Full Story
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![Fans begin to arrive at the stadium before kickoff for the first home football game of the season at the University of Texas at Austin on Sept. 12, 2020.]()
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State releases numbers showing low Texas public school infection rates, but the data is limited
The state's first effort to publicly report coronavirus data from schools shows low statewide infection rates. Breakdowns by school districts should be reported next week. Full Story
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![Students draw their self-portraits, including their masks, in Mrs. Hogan's kindergarten class on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary on Sept. 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Faceless avatars and microphone malfunctions: A Houston teacher wonders if his students are learning
Spend a day with Westfield High School teacher Cris Hernandez, and you'll see the frustrations and uncertainties of virtual teaching. More than four weeks into the school year, he still can't tell if he's connecting with his students. Full Story
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![U.S. History teacher Cris Hernandez teaches a class remotely in an empty classroom at Westfield High School on Sept 15, 2020.]()
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Texas gives preliminary approval for revised school sex ed policy that excludes LGBTQ issues
After marathon meetings over three days, the Republican-dominated board also rejected efforts to teach students about consent. It is expected to take a final vote in November. Full Story
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![Atticus Sandlin owns a variety of pamphlets, stickers, contraception, and various informational resources to provide to anyone who needs them.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas education board rejects three new charter school operators, greenlights five others
Opponents told the board that allowing more charter operators will drain money from traditional public schools, but some parents believe charters offer their children better educations. Full Story
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![State Board of Education members meet in Austin on Jan. 29, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Lawmakers call on Gov. Greg Abbott to plan to expand broadband access as pandemic worsens disparities
A bipartisan group of 88 state lawmakers said in a letter that a statewide broadband plan is well overdue. Full Story
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![The a road in the town of Cactus.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas schools seeing steep declines in number of students getting free meals
Many families with students learning at home can't access the free breakfasts and lunches they depended on when their children were attending school in person. Full Story
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![Round Rock ISD food service worker Hema Patel prepares meals to distribute to families during a curbside meal distribution at Bluebonnet Elementary School on Aug. 20, 2020 in Round Rock.]()
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With colorful masks and many new rules, Mrs. Hogan’s “honeybees” arrive for kindergarten
In-person classes resumed at Highland Village Elementary School on Tuesday. The youngest students wore masks printed with pepperoni pizza and Polly Pocket, adjusting to new safety protocols. Full Story
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![Kindergarten teacher Angie Hogan reads a book to her class on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary on Sept. 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas is revising its sex education standards, but they'll likely remain silent on LGBTQ issues
The Republican-dominated State Board of Education is taking up the first revision of sex ed curriculum in more than 20 years. LGBTQ students say they're being excluded again. Full Story
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![Atticus Sandlin, 16, works to provide support and empowerment to LGBTQ youth. He takes part in youth-led sex education at his school and throughout Texas with the Dallas organization Youth First.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Many Texas students will return to classrooms Tuesday. Little will be normal.
As students across Texas return to schools for in-person classes, there will be masks, distancing and lunches eaten at desks. Many students will remain at home, joining in on laptops and phones. Full Story
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![Students sit at socially distance intervals in the lunch room at Jacob’s Well Elementary School in Wimberley on Sept 4, 2020.]()
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ACLU warns 500 Texas school districts to revise discriminatory dress codes
The letter comes two weeks after a federal judge blocked the Barbers Hill Independent School District from keeping a dress code policy that advocates have called racist. Full Story
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![The administration at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu told senior DeAndre Arnold to cut his dreadlocks.]()
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Absent widespread testing, Texas schools have limited tools to prevent coronavirus spread
Coronavirus cases are inevitable as Texas schools reopen. The challenge for administrators will be preventing large-scale outbreaks. Full Story
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![Desks are spaced out in a classroom at Ott Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 in San Antonio. The arrows on the floor indicate the direction for students to walk to control the flow of traffic through the classroom.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: With schools opening, Texas enters a critical two weeks of the pandemic
Texas is poised right now as it was in late April: COVID-19 numbers are moving in the right direction, and reopenings — schools this time — are underway. Everyone's hoping for a different result this time. Full Story
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![Tubing in New Braunfels on July 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas coronavirus hospitalizations are at a two-month low, but school reopenings pose new risks
After a late July peak, the number of statewide coronavirus hospitalizations has fallen from about 11,000 per day to about 4,500. Children who are infected are less likely to be hospitalized. Full Story
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![Social distancing markers at the LBJ Student Center at Texas State University in San Marcos on August 24, 2020.]()
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As the school year begins online, thousands of Texas students are being left out of virtual learning
One Central Texas superintendent estimated that up to 7,000 students in his district struggled to access virtual learning, and new iPads are not likely to arrive before October. In South Texas, students share computers, phones and spotty internet with siblings. Full Story
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![A Texas elementary school student works on a laptop.]()
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"We're all holding our breath": Health experts on school reopenings in Texas
The Texas Tribune spoke to experts about what the state can expect as schools and universities start school remotely or in person. Full Story
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![Desks are zip-tied and a green "Use" sticker is placed on available desks to practice social distancing in an academic hall at the University of Texas at Austin on Aug. 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding for The Texas Tribune -
Texas schools must file weekly reports with state on COVID-19 cases
Starting Sept. 8, Texas education officials will require all school districts to fill out forms weekly reporting new cases, including whether the infections occurred on or off campus and if the campus closed as a result. Full Story
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![School supplies and disposable masks sit on the desk of math teacher Lydia Bosquez, a cancer survivor, at Judson High School on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 in Converse. Bosquez said the masks are for herself, as she is sometimes forgetful and wants to have a back-up mask wherever she is at, but would provide them to students if they needed one.]()
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A Texas teacher who posted Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ posters in her virtual classroom was placed on leave after parents complained
School officials said parents complained about the posters. Taylor Lifka was allowed to return Tuesday, but she said she is not prepared to come back until the school commits to more inclusive policies. Full Story
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![Taylor Lifka, an advanced English teacher at Roma High School, set up her virtual classroom to more closely resemble her physical class. After posting a picture of the class on social media the image was spread online and Lifka was swiftly placed on administrative leave.]()
Credit: Taylor Lifka