The latest Texas Education Agency news from The Texas Tribune.
With the launch of a new initiative on Monday, the Texas State Technical College System could help revolutionize how colleges align their curriculum with workforce demands and help their students match up better with employers’ needs. Full Story
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Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams told federal education officials the state would take an additional year to pilot a new teacher evaluation system based in part on student standardized test performance. Full Story
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UPDATED: Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams told State Board of Education members Wednesday that said that when he approved a charter school's expansion into the Dallas area, he was following the spirit of a 2013 law. Full Story
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Stacked up against other states, Texas public schools could win the best-bang-for-your-buck competition. The state spends less than most others, and its students perform better than many. But the commitment to fiscal restraint has come with its own burdens for teachers. Full Story
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Over the last decade, Texas students have made steady progress on a number of academic measures. But in recent years, that improvement has begun to stall. Full Story
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State legislatures are scrambling to renounce Common Core standards as a grassroots movement builds against them. But their most vocal and earliest opponent was Texas. Full Story
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Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams has effectively overruled a vote by the State Board of Education to deny an Arizona-based charter school's expansion into the Dallas area. Full Story
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Inadequate supervision from the state has led to "grossly deficient" English language instruction for Texas public school students, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. Full Story
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A new state policy that ties teacher evaluations to student performance on standardized tests is drawing criticism from a range of sources. It is likely to be a topic of discussion Wednesday at a Texas House Public Education Committee hearing. Full Story
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Seven teachers, backed by the Houston branch of the American Federation of Teachers, are suing the Houston school district over a new approach tying standardized test results to pay and employment decisions. Full Story
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House Bill 5, which reduced standardized testing in public high schools, also included a provision aimed at easing the pressure of high-stakes exams for students in lower grades. But it may not be having the intended effect. Full Story
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Starting in the 2014-15 school year, eighth-graders in Texas public schools will be required to have graphing calculators or tablets for STAAR assessments. Some poorer school districts are concerned that the mandate ignores fiscal challenges they're already facing. Full Story
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UPDATED: Instead of making Mexican-American studies an official high school course, the Texas State Board of Education settled on a tentative compromise that would leave the decision whether to offer it to school districts. Full Story
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After questions were raised about language in a policy proposal that appears to call for the biannual testing of pre-kindergarten students, Greg Abbott’s campaign is clarifying his early education plan, saying he is not calling for such tests. Full Story
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A proposal under consideration by the Texas State Board of Education would allow private foundations to pay for elected officials on the 15-member board to visit out-of-state charter schools whose applications they approve. Full Story
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Surpassing the 5 million mark, student enrollment in Texas public schools has hit a new record, according to the Texas Education Agency. And Hispanic enrollment continues to mark the majority. Full Story
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Federal and state officials are in talks to work out a conflict in testing requirements under the state’s new high school graduation standards and federal education law that could mean "double-testing" eighth-graders. Full Story
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As six charter schools face automatic closure under a new Texas law, the state is facing questions over the guidelines used to decide which schools to close. Full Story
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Citing new federal guidelines and recent violent incidents, a coalition of interest groups has asked the Texas Education Agency to prohibit the use of “less lethal” weapons, like Tasers and pepper spray, in public schools. Full Story
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Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis is calling on her likely Republican opponent in the governor's race, Attorney General Greg Abbott, to quit defending the state's school finance system and reach a settlement instead. Abbott said Davis was focused on the past. Full Story
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