The Tyler Morning Telegraph is reporting that the 16-year-old Tyler special education student who fatally stabbed his teacher in September (referenced in today’s story on restraints) has been found competent to stand trial.
state agencies
Posted in
Health care
Disabled students restrained, injured in public schools
Texas educators routinely pin down students with disabilities to control them, according to state data. Disability rights advocates say the restraints point to a crisis in special education, and that teachers are resorting to physical violence because they aren’t properly trained.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Permanent School Fund Rebounds. But Will Schools Benefit?
The state’s permanent school fund, which spins off money for textbooks and the like each year, has recaptured billions of dollars after a frightening downward spiral this spring. Trouble is, the increase in the fund may produce no increase at all in education spending. The real beneficiaries of the fund often are the state legislature and its priorities outside education.
Posted in
State Government
Exit notices for some, but not all
On the day Gov. Rick Perry removed three forensic science commissioners, citing their expired terms, at least 100 appointees whose time was also up remained in their jobs.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas educators vent at feds over teacher test mess
Annoyed at a recent federal ruling that could nullify the credentials of thousands of public school teachers, Texas education advocates want Washington to waive a technicality they say would cause teachers and districts needless headaches.
Posted in
Public Education
Education Commissioner Asks Feds to Reconsider Stripping Texas Teacher Credentials
“The real issue here is, you don’t do something like this after school starts,” Scott said in an interview this afternoon. “And you don’t just decide it in a letter or an email… They leave themselves open to criticism and litigation when they do something outside the rule-making process.”
Posted in
Public Education
Teacher Credentials May Be Nullified By Feds
Thousands of “highly qualified” Texas public school teachers don’t actually meet the federal definition for that standard — which could jeopardize their jobs and will certainly cause bureaucratic headaches for them and their school systems.
Posted in
Health care
Is there a doctor on the line?
Emergency medical technicians and entry-level nurses could be cut out of the telemedicine equation under a proposal the Texas Medical Board is considering. The change would prohibit anyone but doctors, physicians’ assistants and advanced practice nurses from presenting patients for care via long-distance videoconferencing – a move rural hospitals and prison doctors adamantly oppose.
Posted in
Public Education
Reluctantly out in front
Most elected officials greet a chairmanship with some excitement. Gail Lowe, the Lampasas Republican who recently became the chair of the State Board of Education, is approaching her new title with some apprehension.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Too busy for a review
Just days before it was set to review a case in which the state has been accused of executing an innocent man, Gov. Rick Perry replaced the chairman and two other members of an independent state forensics panel.