Texas GOP forges ahead on school vouchers as local districts suffer from lack of state dollars

Texas public schools’ per-student funding level amounts to a 12.9% decline when adjusted for the past decade’s inflation.

by Michael Karlis February 5, 2025April 8, 2025

News

Texas’ public education bills: The good, the bad and the ugly

Conservative state lawmakers have filed hundreds of bills targeting the school finance system, LGBTQ+ students, undocumented immigrant children, and more.

by Josephine Lee, The Texas Observer February 1, 2025April 9, 2025

News

Social media isn’t the only cause of mental health woes among Texas youth, advocates say

Social media’s danger on youth mental health has captured the attention of Texas lawmakers, at times, eclipsing focus on bigger threats — provider shortages and funding cuts to programs.

by Stephen Simpson, The Texas Tribune January 27, 2025May 1, 2025

News

Gov. Greg Abbott wants to extend Texas’ DEI ban to K-12 schools

In 2023, Texas passed a DEI ban at the state’s public universities. Now Abbott wants the state to stop funding diversity programs in K-12 schools.

by Jaden Edison, The Texas Tribune January 18, 2025February 3, 2025

News

Winners and losers from the Texas House speaker’s race

The new speaker’s power over the budget and committee assignments is expected to bolster established Republican leaders and some Democrats who supported the winner.

by Jasper Scherer, The Texas Tribune January 16, 2025January 22, 2025

News

Texas GOP chair denies church-state separation as lawmakers, pastors prep for ‘spiritual battle’

Abraham George’s comments are the latest sign of the state GOP’s embrace of fundamentalist ideologies that seek to center public life around their faith.

by Robert Downen, The Texas Tribune January 15, 2025April 8, 2025

News

Rep. Dustin Burrows voted Texas House speaker in blow to insurgent GOP movement

Burrows defeated Rep. David Cook with a coalition of Republican and Democratic votes.

by James Barragán and Jasper Scherer, The Texas Tribune January 14, 2025January 21, 2025

News

UT-Austin’s presidency goes vacant amid growing challenges for Texas public university leaders

In recent years university presidents have been facing growing political pressures, student and faculty pushback and an increasingly demanding job.

by Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune January 11, 2025January 18, 2025

News

Texas lawmaker accuses state GOP chair of ethics violation over threats in House speaker race

Rep. Cody Harris filed a complaint against Texas GOP Chair Abraham George for sending mailers and censuring lawmakers who support Rep. Dustin Burrows as House speaker.

by Robert Downen, The Texas Tribune January 10, 2025January 16, 2025

News

Texas GOP event will feature Ted Nugent, who’s bragged about sleeping with underage girls

The gathering follows the state GOP passing anti-LGBTQ+ bills they say target ‘groomers’ and child abusers.

by Sanford Nowlin January 10, 2025July 9, 2025

News

Tumultuous 2024: These 10 stories dominated San Antonio’s news cycle last year

SA’s big news ranged from ‘Project Marvel’ and affordable housing to charter amendments and a wide-open mayoral race.

by Sanford Nowlin January 8, 2025March 23, 2025

News

Amid a $7 million deficit to Texas’ suicide hotline, thousands of calls are abandoned monthly

The state’s 988 suicide had the nation’s fifth highest rate of abandoned calls in August, the latest data available, amid a multi-million funding deficit that could worsen as federal dollars expire this year.

by Stephen Simpson, The Texas Tribune January 6, 2025March 8, 2025

News

Texas has a housing affordability crisis. Here’s how state lawmakers may tackle it in 2025.

A likely fight over how much power to take away from local governments may dominate the debate.

by Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune January 6, 2025May 4, 2025

News

Mental health advocates ask Texas lawmakers to replace expiring COVID-19 relief funding

Texas received $203.4 million in 2021 to help build community mental health programs at libraries and churches, among other efforts. Those funds expired Dec. 31.

by Stephen Simpson, The Texas Tribune January 2, 2025May 6, 2025

News

Texas House panel may never hear Robert Roberson’s testimony after new legal move

Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to delay legal proceedings until Jan. 13 — the day before the committee disbands — even as lawmakers vowed to continue fighting to hear from Roberson.

by Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune December 21, 2024July 15, 2025

News

Texas Republicans want voters to provide proof of citizenship. Arizona’s law holds lessons.

A Votebeat analysis shows how such requirements risk disenfranchising key voter groups, including Native Americans and college students.

by Natalia Contreras, VoteBeat and The Texas Tribune December 19, 2024April 25, 2025

News

An emerging Texas megadonor just pledged $20 million to ‘expand a true Republican majority’

Alex Fairly is an Amarillo businessman and father of a state House member who has previously given millions to West Texas A&M University, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton.

by Sneha Dey, The Texas Tribune December 18, 2024March 30, 2025

News

Texas House panel subpoenas death row inmate Robert Roberson a second time

The new subpoena comes after lawmakers say Ken Paxton’s office stalled a previous effort to get Roberson’s legislative testimony about his conviction in ‘shaken baby’ case.

by Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune December 17, 2024July 15, 2025

News

Will Texas finally wind down border security spending?

Top state officials have already made promises that, under Trump, money can be shifted to education. But that didn’t happen last time.

by Francesca D'Annunzio, The Texas Observer December 14, 2024July 15, 2025

News

Texas agency wants $300 million to improve its neglected Medicaid enrollment system

Hundreds of thousands of Texans have been dropped from Medicaid rolls as the state failed to upgrade its sluggish systems.

by Sanford Nowlin December 11, 2024February 4, 2025

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Texas legislature

Texas GOP forges ahead on school vouchers as local districts suffer from lack of state dollars

Texas’ public education bills: The good, the bad and the ugly

Gov. Greg Abbott wants to extend Texas’ DEI ban to K-12 schools

Winners and losers from the Texas House speaker’s race

Texas GOP chair denies church-state separation as lawmakers, pastors prep for ‘spiritual battle’

Rep. Dustin Burrows voted Texas House speaker in blow to insurgent GOP movement

UT-Austin’s presidency goes vacant amid growing challenges for Texas public university leaders

Texas lawmaker accuses state GOP chair of ethics violation over threats in House speaker race

Texas GOP event will feature Ted Nugent, who’s bragged about sleeping with underage girls

Tumultuous 2024: These 10 stories dominated San Antonio’s news cycle last year

Amid a $7 million deficit to Texas’ suicide hotline, thousands of calls are abandoned monthly

Texas has a housing affordability crisis. Here’s how state lawmakers may tackle it in 2025.

Mental health advocates ask Texas lawmakers to replace expiring COVID-19 relief funding

Texas House panel may never hear Robert Roberson’s testimony after new legal move

Texas Republicans want voters to provide proof of citizenship. Arizona’s law holds lessons.

An emerging Texas megadonor just pledged $20 million to ‘expand a true Republican majority’

Texas House panel subpoenas death row inmate Robert Roberson a second time

Will Texas finally wind down border security spending?

Texas agency wants $300 million to improve its neglected Medicaid enrollment system