One Black Texan sees education savings accounts as an escape from a burning house. Another fears they threaten a robust public school system.
Of the almost 275,000 students who applied for vouchers, 45% are white and 75% attended a private school or home-school in 2024-25, final numbers show.
The explorer now shows long-term trends, school funding data, and newly released Texas Academic Performance Reports, among other updates.
Today, we are unveiling our most ambitious update yet to The Texas Tribune’s schools explorer, with more information and added context to help Texans interpret information about our schools.
In this week’s episode, hosts Matthew and Eleanor talk with Tribune K-12 education reporter Jaden Edison about who in Texas applied for school vouchers and why Muslim schools were shut out of the program.
The Waco school district is expected to be the latest to contract with the charter operator founded by Mike Miles, the state-appointed superintendent of Houston schools.
An investigation ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott found that less than half a percent of federal money spent on child care scholarships in Texas was considered “improper.”
Schools were also directed to cancel or change celebrations of the late civil rights leader amid allegations of sexual abuse.
Several Islamic schools sued Texas for excluding them from the voucher program. Iman Academy is instead calling for fairness while hoping to be judged by its work — not stereotypes.
The application period, set to close Tuesday night, must now remain open until March 31, according to an attorney representing Islamic schools.
After reporting from The Texas Tribune, the office tasked with handing out vouchers clarified that families who do not complete a special education evaluation this year may have a chance to qualify for more funding in future years.
Confusion over the program’s special education requirements is making it difficult for families to meet a looming deadline — and creating more work for Texas school districts.
The threat of a Texas Education Agency takeover was triggered by one of the North Texas district’s schools that had been underperforming for years.
A federal judge previously gave families an additional two weeks to apply after Muslim parents and Islamic schools sued, arguing they had been improperly excluded from the program.
School boards had until March 1 to decide whether to establish a daily period for students and staff to pray or read religious texts.
Taxpayers will bear the cost of fixing errors in learning materials published by the Texas Education Agency. The curriculum has drawn attention for its references to Christianity and the Bible.
Students who took English and math college prep courses were less likely to complete college than their peers who were not considered college ready at all.
Paxton said his office is examining claims that administrators and faculty helped organize the demonstrations.
More than 100,000 Texas families have applied for the state’s new Education Freedom Account program in less than two weeks. Here’s what to know before the March 17 deadline.
The state education agency issued guidance to districts after Gov. Greg Abbott directed its commissioner to investigate the student protests of killings by federal agents.
Concerned about Texas’ social studies overhaul, Democrats on the State Board of Education used a recent meeting to push for the inclusion of more Black and Indigenous perspectives and for young children to learn about the horrific nature of slavery.
State Board of Education members criticized the publishing errors and postponed their vote on the agency’s request until their next meeting.
Faced with a proposed list of almost 300 readings for K-12 students, the State Board of Education delayed a vote until April.
The demographic makeup of the “trigger” schools raises questions about whether Texas' accountability system fairly considers historic inequities tied to race and poverty.
The governor said public universities and state agencies may not seek new visas without Texas Workforce Commission permission through the end of the 2027 legislative session.
A CAIR official blasted the Texas AG’s opinion, saying the law does not permit the comptroller to scrutinize Muslim schools because of their religious identity.
Talarico’s two years as a public school teacher is central to his Democratic Senate campaign after shaping his policy goals and driving his political rise through the Texas House.
Bill Elliott was placed on administrative leave in October after his son, a football coach at Celina’s middle school, was accused of secretly filming boys in the school’s locker room. A district report found he pressured the principal to hire his son.
Several court hearings and policies affecting education, health and more will roll out in the new year.
The Tribune’s team of data journalists produced a congressional redistricting tool, covered several education data releases, visualized the measles outbreak and more.
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock suggested schools that hosted events for the Council on American-Islamic Relations or are linked to China could be disqualified from the new program.
Texas has long failed to get most of its students the higher education credentials the workforce increasingly demands. But recent laws that reward schools for helping students succeed later in life could help the state make up lost ground, experts say. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board regularly tracks if students enrolled in eighth grade […]
Newly-released state data tracked the long-term outcomes of public school students who enrolled a decade ago.
A limited group of families with 3- and 4-year-olds who already qualify for free public pre-K can receive state funds to attend private preschool.
The top-ranked Celina High School football team is barrelling toward another state championship this month. Its coach is barred from the field.
The three interventions come after the state’s education agency announced plans to take over Fort Worth ISD in October.
Texas cities and counties already face limits on how much revenue they can generate. Local leaders have warned that further restrictions would mean fewer services like parks and libraries.
The former Houston ISD superintendent was the first Black person to lead the Department of Education and helped launch the No Child Left Behind Act.
The governor must first win over lawmakers who have rejected similar proposals. The state may have to backfill more than $17 billion for school funding alone.
Republican officials in Oklahoma and Florida have also launched plans to expand the presence of the conservative youth organization founded by Charlie Kirk.
Cases challenging Florida and federal policies provide a glimpse into the possible outcome for the Texas case. It is scheduled for a court hearing in Houston on Dec. 10.
The rules serve as the foundation for Texas’ private school voucher program, which will officially launch at the start of the 2026-27 school year.
The meeting happened days before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pledged $1 million to help establish chapters of the conservative student group on every Texas college and high school campus.
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.