Texas Schools

The Texas Senate wants to ban tenure. The House gave initial approval Monday to a bill that would instead enshrine tenure policies in state law. After final passage, the two chambers have a week left to come to a compromise.

Texas senators have latched education savings accounts to a school funding bill in a last-ditch effort to avoid a special session. But some House members are furious at the revamped version and have vowed not to let it become law.

Abbott says if a school voucher bill isn’t expanded to include more students, a special legislative session will be the result.

The bill is one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priorities but could run into trouble in the House.

Political pitches for school vouchers, or “education savings accounts,” cite “school choice” and “education freedom." The same arguments helped sell public charter schools in the 1990s.

The House budget contains a provision preventing public money to be spent on private schools — but will it stay that way?

Senate Bill 8, which would give parents state funds to pay for private schools, was approved by Texas Senators on Thursday.

Passage of a school choice measure is anything but a sure bet, as there is little evidence that the governor has been able to convince rural Republicans in the Texas House — who have for years been a reliable firewall — to drop their opposition.

In the state's first truly hybrid public school, an old Dallas ISD campus has adopted a new identity: It blends in-person learning part of the week with virtual learning for the rest.

If passed, Senate Bill 18 would not allow public universities in Texas to offer professors tenure after September 1, 2023. However, the proposal would not affect professors who currently have tenure.