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The Latest Breaking News from Brad Buckley

Texas teachers, parents fear STAAR overhaul won’t take testing pressure off kids

Skeptics of the replacement, which requires three exams throughout the year, want to see less restrictions on testing day and more teacher input.

The Texas Tribune

Texas is poised to replace STAAR. Here is what schools’ new standardized tests would look like.

A bill scrapping the state’s standardized test heads over to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. It would replace STAAR with three shorter tests at the beginning, middle and end of the year.

The Texas Tribune

House Democrats’ frustration with STAAR bill highlights divide over how new test should look

Democrats say recent changes to the bill give too much power to the TEA and fall short of meaningfully easing the pressures of standardized testing.

The Texas Tribune

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Analysis: The 2025 Texas House, from right to left

Here’s a look at House members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on votes cast during the 2025 regular session.

The Texas Tribune

Texas parents, school boards may have more control over school library books after House OKs bill

Senate Bill 13 would require school boards or advisory councils to approve new books and review complaints. Critics worry the bill would lead to banning classic titles and create administrative logjams.

The Texas Tribune

Clock is ticking for Texas lawmakers to settle differences on $8 billion public school funding package

Senators will hold a hearing Thursday on their counterproposal to the House's school funding bill. House Democrats and public education advocates have criticized the upper chamber for not moving faster to advance the legislation.

The Texas Tribune

Texas bill to overhaul STAAR test clears the House but faces a skeptical Senate

House Bill 4 would make the test shorter and base scores on how students’ performance compares to national averages.

The Texas Tribune

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How Greg Abbott took a flailing school voucher movement and turned it into a winning issue

Abbott tapped into a powerful national conservative movement and his own campaign war chest to turn legislative races into multimillion-dollar affairs.

The Texas Tribune

In historic first, Texas House approves private school voucher program

The bill would let families use taxpayer dollars for their children’s private schooling. Lawmakers also signed off on a sweeping $7.7 billion package to boost public school funding.

The Texas Tribune

House Committee Passes ‘Texas Two Step’ of Vouchers and Public Ed Funding

Dems could do little but sound the alarm on vouchers—and warn the $7.7-billion school-finance package is still not enough.

Texas Observer

Different pace and priorities separate Texas Senate and House on school vouchers

The gaps over eligibility and on spending levels are narrower than the fundamental differences of the previous session.

The Texas Tribune

Marathon Hearing on School Vouchers Features Intense Bipartisan Opposition

“There is a disconnect between the rhetoric and what the bill actually says,” Democrat James Talarico summarized of House Bill 3.

Texas Observer

Debate on House’s school voucher bill centers on a question: Should wealthy Texans be included?

The hearing on House Bill 3 started Tuesday and ended Wednesday morning. Hundreds of Texans waited overnight to testify.

The Texas Tribune

Texas Democrats criticize school leaders for being too “nice” about their funding needs

Lawmakers this week listened to testimony on House Bill 2, which would raise schools’ base funding per student by $220 — a figure that falls short of what many Texans say is needed.

The Texas Tribune

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The Texas Tribune

Voucher bills want to prioritize low-income families and be open to all students. Those goals might be at odds.

Neither of the Legislature’s voucher bills require private schools to accept certain students, which some warn could block the neediest children from access.

The Texas Tribune

Thin majority of Texas House signs on to support voucher bill

The 75 co-sponsors plus the bill’s author would provide enough votes to pass Gov. Abbott’s top priority measure in the 150-seat House.

The Texas Tribune

Texas House wants to give public schools $220 more per student

The proposal, filed Thursday, comes well short of the increase school administrators and education advocates have been asking for.

Texas Observer

Speaker Burrows Remodels Texas House with All-Republican Chairs

The new leader of the lower chamber finally announced committee assignments, formalizing a new order in the lower chamber.

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The Texas Tribune

Texas House committee assignments extend power of experienced GOP leaders

Republicans chair all committees, as promised, while Democrats will lead half of the newly created subcommittees.

The Texas Tribune

How Gov. Greg Abbott lost a yearlong fight to create school vouchers

The governor projected confidence throughout 2023 that vouchers would pass. But his insistence on universal eligibility ensured his failure to convince 21 House Republican holdouts.

The Texas Tribune

Texas Legislature adjourns fourth special session — leaving vouchers, school safety and elections bills unfinished

The latest casualties were Senate Bill 5, which would spend $800 million on school safety measures through 2025, and Senate Bill 6, which would change the timeline of a trial after an election contest is filed by a citizen or group.

The Texas Tribune

School voucher critics remain largely unswayed during Texas House hearing

House Bill 1, which stagnated during the previous special session, finally received a hearing in the lower chamber, a crucial step that will decide whether the proposal gets a full vote.

The Texas Tribune

Texas' part-time Legislature has been at it all year. Now they're heading into a rare fourth special session

A full 30-day session amounts to about $1 million in per diem payments to lawmakers, which are meant to cover their expenses in Austin.

The Texas Tribune

Abbott calls lawmakers back for fourth time to try again on school vouchers and border security

The governor announced the fourth special session would start an hour after the previous session adjourned.

The Texas Tribune

The Texas House’s new priority education bill offers concessions to sway voucher skeptics

The revised bill promises a significant funding increase for public schools and academic accountability measures for students participating in the proposed voucher program, two of the biggest requests from voucher opponents.

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