Public health experts and medical professionals are sounding the alarm over the highly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19. The governor has stood firm on his ban against masking mandates in schools.
education
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Coronavirus in Texas
CDC wants more vaccinated people and schoolchildren to mask up — but Texas keeps it voluntary
Texas Republican state leaders held their ground against allowing local schools and governments to require masks. The CDC guidelines are not mandates and have no weight of law.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas Senate approves limits on transgender athletes, but bills are still in limbo
Transgender students would be prevented from joining public school and university sports teams that correspond to their gender.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas’ 1836 Project aims to promote “patriotic education,” but critics worry it will gloss over state’s history of racism
The project is essentially an advisory committee designed to promote the state’s history to Texas residents, largely through pamphlets given to people receiving driver’s licenses.
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Public Education
Texas families with students receiving free or reduced-price lunches could be eligible for up to $1,200 in food aid
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will allocate around $2.5 billion in food benefits to all eligible families. School districts will notify families about eligibility by June 2.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas educators worry bill limiting the teaching of current events and historic racism would “whitewash history”
Texas educators say they’re concerned they won’t be able to have open conversations about what’s happening in the world if the Texas Legislature approves a bill that restricts how teachers can discuss current events in the classroom.
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Point of Order
Point of Order: Big man on campus
In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to former state Rep. Pete Gallego about his first year as the president of his alma mater, Sul Ross State University in Alpine, and the challenges and opportunities ahead for higher ed as the state comes out of the pandemic.
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Public Education
School nurses have become crucial in battling the pandemic, but Texas doesn’t require districts to have them
With more students going back to classrooms and no more statewide mask mandate, nurses say their jobs are set to become even more challenging.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
Millions of Texans still don’t have broadband access. Some lawmakers are trying to change that.
Although much of the attention is focused in the lack of infrastructure in rural areas, large numbers of urban residents also don’t have broadband subscriptions.
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Public Education
Texas schools won’t lose state funding this academic year for coronavirus attendance declines
School districts must keep or increase the rate of students learning in person in order to avoid losing funds, Gov. Greg Abbott and education officials announced Thursday.