As news of the Fort Hood shootings unfolds, we’ll be adding links, maps, audio, photographs, and other information from around the web to this post.
state agencies
The World According To Don
So what if he’s no longer the chair of the State Board of Education? Self-described “religious fanatic” Don McLeroy has big plans for Texas education — and science is just the beginning.
Student restraints, Day 3: Jennifer Howson’s story
Jennifer Howson, 21, was restrained dozens of times at her school in the northeast Texas town of Kemp, often sustaining scrapes, bruises and black eyes.
The Brief: November 5, 2009
Recommendation: Do not get swine flu. Tracking the vaccine is getting to be like figuring out what happened to all the TARP money.
Dropout problem drags Texas down
“I represent a district that has 80 percent renters, 70 percent of people speaking a first language other than English, where there’s a high school with 42 languages and 40 percent turnover of the student body every year — now tell me how you plan to calculate the dropout rate,” Rep. Scott Hochberg said. “I will stipulate that it’s too big — let’s just start there. I wish we fought over solutions as much as we fight over the number.”
Faulty figures: The great dropout debate
Despite years of research, the true picture of dropout and graduation rates remains elusive, even the subject of cross words between researchers. The consensus: Far too many Texas public school students, particularly those from poor and minority families, don’t cross the high-school finish line.
Student Restraints Day 2: How Texas school districts compare
Texas school districts vary widely in how often they physically restrain students with disabilities – despite a shared state policy on when to use them. Use this interactive graphic to see how school districts compared during the 2007-08 school year, the most recent statewide data available.
Trouble in the big tent
Those watching the Perry-Hutchison brawl for hints of the GOP’s future may be looking in the wrong place. A small race for the State Board of Education gives a glimpse into the party’s inner-turmoil.

