News
UT Austin blocks access to TikTok on university networks
Posted on · The public university took the step in response to a directive that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued in early December. Abbott said the app posed security risks to the state.
Harris County
Austin ISD’s interim superintendent is leaving for a school district in the Houston area
Posted on · The Austin ISD board of trustees hired Anthony Mays to be the interim superintendent in June following the departure of Stephanie Elizalde. He plans to begin his new role with Alief ISD in January.
School shooting
‘We did it!’ — Uvalde’s entire school police department suspended following activism from families
Posted on · The announcement comes after some family members of victims of the shooting at Robb Elementary School have protested and even camped out at the district headquarters demanding accountability from law enforcement agencies who responded to the shooting.
Education
Texas State Board of Education to delay revisions to social studies standards
Posted on · If the delay is approved, it will mean the state's social studies curriculum will not be revised until after the November election.
Education
‘They are not naive about the reality’: New Texas teachers enter a field in crisis
Posted on · "I have to do what’s best for me. And if I cannot live reasonably with being a teacher, I will have to leave this profession as others are right now.”
Education
Texas students in grades 3-8 make significant gains in STAAR tests, while lower math scores linger
Posted on · While Texas students have not regained all the ground they lost in math during the pandemic, scores across all grades were higher in 2022 than they were in 2021. Reading proficiency, on the other hand, appears to have fully recovered.
Health & Science
Texas is short thousands of workers at state health facilities
Posted on · The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is trying to fill about 3,000 open positions by offering signing bonuses for certain medical staff such as registered nurses.
Health & Science
FEMA opening six COVID-19 testing sites in Texas
Posted on · The Federal Emergency Management Agency is opening six COVID-19 testing sites in Texas counties with high positivity rates and growing hospitalizations. Governor Greg Abbot requested support from the Biden administration last week.
Politics
Texas landlords will have to disclose flood risk to renters. That’s one of 23 new laws going into effect Jan. 1
Posted on · Other new laws include transparency for long-term care facilities and trademark protections for restaurants.
Health & Science
Survey finds LGBTQ+ youth in Texas and the greater South are at higher risk for suicide
Posted on · The Trevor Project found LGBTQ+ young people living in southern states, including Texas, are more likely to consider and attempt suicide in large part because they are less likely to live in accepting communities.
Criminal Justice
Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Bill Requiring Cash Bail For Some Offenses Into Law
Posted on · The Damon Allen Act bars a person from being released on a no-cash bond if charged with certain crimes.
Politics
After Voting Bill’s Passage, Texas Democrats Hold Out For Federal Help That May Never Come
Posted on · Texas Democrats made their way to the U.S. Capitol to pressure Congress into voting for federal voting protections. But politics in Washington make that less likely with each passing day.
Health & Science
Gov. Abbott Says Texas Is Preparing For Possible Spread Of Coronavirus
Posted on · While the state began taking steps to prepare a response to the respiratory illness about a month ago, Abbott said it is drawing on historical knowledge responding to other infectious diseases.
Texas
More Texas Companies Are Improving The Workplace For LGBTQ Employees
Posted on · Twenty-eight Texas-based companies were among those deemed by the Human Rights Campaign as the best places to work for LGBTQ equality.
Texas
Texas Led The Nation In On-Duty Officer Deaths In 2019
Posted on · Seven of the officers who died this year were killed by firearms, six were killed in traffic-related incidents, and five of the fatalities were considered “other.”