The law requires school employees to use names and pronouns that conform to students’ sex at birth.
Three school district leaders at The Texas Tribune Festival said the Texas Education Agency’s reliance on state takeovers to improve academic performance threatens local control.
Some advisers have criticized diversity efforts, questioned the historical contributions of people of color, and promoted debunked beliefs.
Hundreds of families lost child care when certain programs weren’t funded earlier this month, and scores more may be affected if Congress doesn’t fund the government by Dec. 1.
Abbott framed his campaign as a means to keep Texas as a conservative bastion, touting efforts to lower property taxes, bolster education and strengthen public safety.
The suits against Galveston, Round Rock and Leander ISDs come after Texas passed a law requiring the commandments be posted in classrooms. The law is being challenged in federal court.
The Texas comptroller holds tremendous power over the program, including choosing which companies the state will pay millions to help manage it. Voters will decide who runs the agency next year.
Both Republicans and Democrats have said STAAR sets students up for failure, raising questions about basing a state takeover on the test’s results.
A takeover is meant to correct the course of struggling school districts. But it can become a fraught process since the district’s elected school board loses its decision-making power.
The North Texas district is the 11th since 2000 to be taken over by the state and the second largest after Houston ISD.
Proposition 1 would create an $850 million endowment for the college system and its 11 campuses, which are struggling to accommodate a growing student population.
The judges opting to hear the cases together marks a significant development in a saga that many believe will reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
