Opponents told the board that allowing more charter operators will drain money from traditional public schools, but some parents believe charters offer their children better educations.
Aliyya Swaby
Aliyya Swaby was the public education reporter for The Texas Tribune, where she worked from 2016 to 2021. Previously she worked at the hyperlocal nonprofit New Haven Independent, where she covered education, zoning and transit for two years. After graduating from Yale University in 2013, she spent a year freelance reporting in Panama on social issues affecting black Panamanian communities. She was an Education Writers Association finalist in 2017 for beat reporting and a Livingston Awards finalist in 2019 for a series on school desegregation.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas is revising its sex education standards, but they’ll likely remain silent on LGBTQ issues
The Republican-dominated State Board of Education is taking up the first revision of sex ed curriculum in more than 20 years. LGBTQ students say they’re being excluded again.
Posted in
Reopening Texas Schools
Many Texas students will return to classrooms Tuesday. Little will be normal.
As students across Texas return to schools for in-person classes, there will be masks, distancing and lunches eaten at desks. Many students will remain at home, joining in on laptops and phones.
Posted in
Reopening Texas Schools
As the school year begins online, thousands of Texas students are being left out of virtual learning
One Central Texas superintendent estimated that up to 7,000 students in his district struggled to access virtual learning, and new iPads are not likely to arrive before October. In South Texas, students share computers, phones and spotty internet with siblings.
Posted in
Reopening Texas Schools
Texas schools must file weekly reports with state on COVID-19 cases
Starting Sept. 8, Texas education officials will require all school districts to fill out forms weekly reporting new cases, including whether the infections occurred on or off campus and if the campus closed as a result.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
In shift, Texas begins publishing some data on coronavirus cases at child care centers
Without numbers on how many children or staff are in Texas child care facilities — which the state does not report — it’s hard to gauge the magnitude of infections.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas will start posting coronavirus case data from public schools, education commissioner says
The data will be posted on a state website and the reporting process will be finalized after input from school superintendents.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
With school reopening, Gov. Greg Abbott sets off another debate over whether local or state officials are in control
Abbott’s decision to curb the role of local health authorities in school reopening decisions has added to the ongoing conflict between him and local governments during the pandemic, with mayors and judges voicing frustration over having their hands tied by the state’s response.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott says local health officials can shut down schools only in limited circumstances
Abbott said local health authorities can’t shut down in-person instruction before school starts, but an outbreak on campus once students have arrived could prompt a closure.
Posted in
Reopening Texas Schools
Custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers also fear returning to Texas schools
Texas schools employ almost as many support staff members as they do teachers, often in hourly or part-time jobs with low pay. The state has offered limited guidance on how to protect them on the job.