News from the South - Texas News Feed

Public Education Bills: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Published

6 months ago

January 28, 2025

www.texasobserver.org – Josephine Lee – 2025-01-28 07:20:00

In recent years, Texas public education has become a battleground for right-wing ideologues aiming to embed Christian nationalist values in the classroom and to defund or privatize the state’s public schools, which currently serve about 5.5 million students. This 89th Legislative Session is no different.

After spending more than $8 million on last year’s House primaries to oust anti-voucher Republicans, Governor Greg Abbott appears confident that school vouchers will pass. But the bipartisan election of Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows over hard-right opponent David Cook may throw a wrench into the education agenda of conservatives, who have already filed hundreds of bills targeting the school finance system, LGBTQ+ students, undocumented immigrant children, and more.

School Finance

In 2023, Abbott sat on a $33 billion surplus without increasing state aid to schools, in a failed bid to tie funding to the passage of a school voucher program. There is now a projected $24 billion surplus for the next biennium that could be tapped.

Facing record-high inflation rates and no increase in per-student funding since 2019, Texas public school districts have been cutting staff and services and closing schools.

In response, Democrats have filed several bills proposing to increase per-student funding. Democratic Representative Vikki Goodwin’ House Bill 1770 would raise the amount from $6,160 to $7,500 next year, adjusting annually with inflation.

Other bills tying school funding to student enrollment instead of attendance, which has been less consistent since the COVID-19 pandemic, may also stabilize school districts’ finances. Democratic Representative Gina Hinojosa’s HB 1157 would use student enrollment to determine school funding as well as special program support—and limit the student-to-teacher ratio.

Meanwhile, some GOP bills threaten to dismantle the main source of public school funding: property taxes.

Since 2019, when the Legislature passed a school property tax compression bill, the state has cut the rate of property taxes that school districts receive, known as the M&O tax (for school maintenance and operations). Senate Bill 2, approved in 2023, also advanced $18.6 billion in property tax cuts without providing additional funding for schools.

Some new GOP bills threaten to either deepen those cuts or eliminate school property taxes altogether, like HB 960 or HB 165 filed by Republican representatives Steve Toth and Cody Vasut, respectively.

Other Democratic and Republican legislators have proposed bills to offset current or future property tax cuts by tapping the state’s surplus revenue for schools. But some legislators, like Democratic Senator Nathan Johnson, don’t see this as a long-term solution. “Historically, Texas has surpluses and deficits. If we hit a deficit in two, four, or six years, and we have these very large mandatory contributions from the state to school systems in lieu of local property tax dollars, the state could respond by cutting funding for public schools when there’s not enough money,” Johnson told the Texas Observer.

School Vouchers

In 2023, 21 House Republicans joined Democrats to strip approval of a voucher program, which would entitle students to receive public dollars to attend private schools, from the public school funding omnibus HB 1. Today, only seven of those Republicans remain. A bipartisan group recently elected Dustin Burrows as House Speaker, even though Burrows endorsed school vouchers. Passage of some kind of voucher program seems assured in both chambers, which have already set aside $1 billion in initial budget planning to create it.

Republican Representative Matt Shaheen filed HB 612 in the House, which resembles a bill that failed in 2023. Senate Republicans filed a similar bill, SB 2, and will hear public testimony Tuesday.

Neither bill limits the amount of general revenue that could be tapped to fund the program nor on the number of students who can receive vouchers. Nor would the bills set minimum financial or academic accountability standards for private schools who receive the funding. SB 2 does require private school students who receive vouchers to take standardized tests, but it does not require the state to monitor their academic achievement. SB 2 would offer $10,000 to students for private school tuition and lesser amounts to students who hire a private tutor. While proponents have argued that a voucher program would be created by tapping the general revenue fund instead of the Foundation School Program that funds public schools, opponents have warned that districts would lose funding anyway since public schools receive money based on student attendance, which would decrease if school vouchers pass. An intermediary “educational service organization” could collect a percentage of appropriated funds (5 percent under HB 612, 3 percent under SB 2) to manage the program. Under Shaheen’s version, individuals could also receive a tax credit if they contribute to the program, further reducing the state revenue available for public schools and other services.

Unlike past proposals, both bills limit eligibility to children who previously attended public school or are entering kindergarten. But legislators, like Republican Representative Drew Darby, have warned that similar restrictions were quickly removed in other states’ voucher programs. “Once you have a program, they [the guardrails] will be removed, and the program will expand,” Darby said in an interview with WFAA ABC News.

Culture Wars

Attacks on Texas public schools’ marginalized students do not seem to be relenting this legislative session.

Under the guise of expanding parental rights, Republican Senator Bob Hall filed SB 86, which would require school district employees to inform parents if their student requests to use different pronouns or identify as transgender. The bill also mandates districts to request parental consent for students to participate in LGBTQ+ student clubs and prohibits instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation. Hall’s proposal mirrors a Katy Independent School District policy passed in 2023, which requires employees to report a student’s preferred pronoun to parents. (The U.S. Department of Education later opened a Title IX gender harassment investigation, and some Katy ISD students reported feeling less safe.)

Under SB 86, parents could sue school districts for violating parental rights under the Texas Education Code. Republican Representative Jared Patterson’s HB 284 similarly aims to expand parental rights by establishing a state ombudsman for parents who wish to file a complaint against a school district, its employees, the state education agency, or the State Board of Education.

Republican Representative Ben Bumgarner is reviving efforts to deny undocumented immigrant children access to public education. Like its previous iterations, HB 371 would require students to provide proof of citizenship or legal status to enroll in public schools. Districts would be compelled to report children who do not meet these requirements to the state. Previous efforts have been a non-starter because such a law is likely unconstitutional.

School Safety and Discipline

School safety and discipline bills filed this legislative session appear to be moving away from punitive zero-tolerance policies, which public school advocates say have failed to make schools safer.

SB 570, a bipartisan proposal, aims to reduce truancy by calling upon district officials to conduct home visits and identify additional services for affected students. Senator Johnson filed SB 559 to reduce the state’s student-to-school counselor ratio, and Democratic Representative John Bucy’s HB 458 would offer alternatives to suspensions for students below sixth grade receiving special education services.

HB 3, which passed in 2023, requires armed guards on every campus, but it did not provide funding. Republican Senator Joan Huffman filed SB 260 which would double the per-student and per-campus safety allotments. Democratic Senator Royce West has filed a similar bill, SB 598, which would increase the per-student safety allotment from $10 to $100 and the campus allotment from $15,000 to $60,000. In comparison, Representative Toth’s HB 1010 proposes punitive measures to enforce HB 3. Under his bill, if school districts fail to comply with safety and security requirements, the commissioner can assign a conservator to oversee the district.

Charter Schools

State funds to charter schools have nearly quadrupled since 2010, when the state education commissioner became empowered to expand charter school’s campuses, without input from the public or elected officials, once the entity had been greenlit by the State Board of Education. Texas charter schools receive 20 percent of state public school dollars but enroll only 8 percent of all Texas public school students, according to a 2024 Legislative Budget Board analysis. Texas Democrats have filed multiple bills this legislative session to rein in the expansion of charter schools.

Democratic Representative Terry Canales’s HB 1693 would require a state auditor to review open-enrollment charter schools receiving more than $100 million in state revenue. And Democratic Senators Borris Miles, Roland Guttierez, and José Menéndez filed SB 285 prohibiting a charter organization from using state funds to bankroll charter schools outside Texas. The bill follows stories by Spectrum News and the Texas Observer about the out-of-state financial transfers, and financial operations and reporting, of a charter school nonprofit formerly run by Houston Independent School District superintendent Mike Miles.

Democrats have filed several bills to curb charter school expansion. Senator West’s SB 605 would prohibit the approval of a charter’s expansion if it doesn’t meet accreditation, academic, and financial accountability standards, or if it is subjected to disciplinary actions by the education commissioner. Representative Diego Bernal’s HB 756 would allow the education commissioner to approve expansions only under certain conditions and only once each biennium.

Standardized Testing

Republican Representative Brooks Landgraf is responding to years of protests against high-stakes testing by parents and teachers. HB 221 does not eliminate high-stakes testing, but it would require end-of-course state testing “only as necessary to comply” with federal law. That would mean eliminating the Algebra I, biology, English I and English II, and US History state tests for middle and high school students.

The post Public Education Bills: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly appeared first on The Texas Observer.

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News from the South - Texas News Feed

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs school cellphone ban bill in Amarillo on Friday

Published

6 hours ago

August 1, 2025

Staff Editor

www.kxan.com – Caden Keenan – 2025-08-01 12:45:00

SUMMARY: Texas Governor Greg Abbott will visit Amarillo to ceremonially sign House Bill 1481, authored by local State Representative Caroline Fairly, which restricts phone use in public and charter schools starting in the 2025-2026 school year. The law mandates schools to implement policies that either store students’ phones and devices during the day or ban them on campus, aiming to improve focus, mental health, and social engagement. Abbott’s signing event will include officials like Representatives Fairly, Dustin Burrows, Jared Patterson, Amarillo ISD Superintendent Dr. Deidre Parish, and teacher Mellessa Denny. The law mirrors similar bans in other states but faces opposition from parents concerned about emergency communication. Fairly also championed the App Store Accountability Act requiring age verification and parental consent for app downloads by minors.

Read the full article

The post Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs school cellphone ban bill in Amarillo on Friday appeared first on www.kxan.com

News from the South - Texas News Feed

Rural Texas uses THC for health and economy

Published

14 hours ago

August 1, 2025

Staff Editor

feeds.texastribune.org – By Stephen Simpson – 2025-08-01 05:00:00

By Stephen Simpson, The Texas Tribune

Aug. 1, 2025

“Some rural Texans see THC as a lifeline for their health and economy” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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MIDWAY — Some who live in Texas’ small towns say that if someone looks close enough, they will see why hemp-derived THC has taken root in rural regions.

Faded crosses on the side of the road and faces of once-promising teens on “Don’t drink and drive” and fentanyl overdose billboards reveal the scars left behind in the isolated parts of Texas, where tight-knit communities have been permanently changed.

Anti-drug hardliners can argue rural Texas’ struggle with substance abuse is why THC has proliferated there and why it needs to be banned, but many cannabis users in the state’s small communities say it has spared them from spiraling further into the destruction of alcoholism and drug addiction.

“I spent over 10 years in the fire service, and I can tell you have seen more fatality and messed up accidents because of alcohol than any other drug,” said Timothy Mabry, a hemp proponent from Canyon Lake. “Also, the difference between someone who is violently drunk and someone who is happily high is drastic. And many of us here have seen it firsthand.”

Hemp supporters say a ban on THC, which lawmakers are mulling, would be catastrophic to rural Texas.

The lack of access to the Texas Compassionate Use Program, the state’s tightly regulated medical marijuana program, and other traditional forms of medical care in those communities has steered users — even those who qualify for prescription drugs — toward consumable hemp products. This has unfolded as rural areas are home to some of the state’s sickest and oldest populations, many of whom are looking for relief from mental illness or chronic pain and find an antidote in cannabis use.

Amid growing addiction problems that hit rural communities harder than their urban peers, some have used hemp products to wean off alcohol or opioids, and farmers and small-town retailers are eager to meet those needs in hopes of boosting their downtown economies.

“My family lives in Belleville in Austin County, a big farm community with maybe 4,000 people total. That little town has maybe 30 storefronts, and three of them are hemp CBD shops. It’s a big part of the economy in these rural areas,” Andy “Doc” Melder, a Navy veteran and founder of Warriors Integrating Possibilities, a group aimed at ending veteran suicide and the opioid epidemic, especially in rural Texas.

On Wednesday, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 5 by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, which would criminalize products containing any “detectable amount of any cannabinoid” other than cannabidiol and cannabigerol, better known as CBD and CBG, non-intoxicating components of cannabis. This bill would eliminate the majority of hemp products, including those that are legal under the federal definition.

Hemp opponents have given various reasons for a ban, saying the industry is unregulated, caters to children, and that the long-term health effects of cannabis use are still unknown.

The effort by Republican lawmakers who support a ban has spurred blowback from their usual ardent political allies: rural Texans, from farmers to veterans, and the older generation.

Zach Lindeen pets Ruger, one of Romana Harding’s dogs, as his listens to his mom speak about how cannabis quiets his seizures during an interview on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, outside of Midway, TX. — Zach Lindeen pets Ruger, one of Romana Harding’s dogs, as he listens to his mom, Piper Lindeen, speak about how cannabis quiets Zach’s seizures. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune

Limited access to medical marijuana

Texas has one of the largest rural populations in the country, with about 5 million of its approximately 31 million people living in rural areas. The health outcomes of Texans who live in these regions are significantly worse than their urban peers, partly due to the lack of physical and mental care access.

The inability to find help has driven some people to seek relief elsewhere.

“The funny thing is, my parents sent me to rehab when I was 15 for my cannabis use, and they hated the thought of it. Now they are using cannabis themselves for pain relief,” Melder said.

Some lawmakers have insisted the Texas Compassionate Use Program is the best route for cannabis users with mental illness and chronic pain. However, those who live in rural parts of the state don’t have access to those dispensaries, and if they do, products are expensive and limited.

“We don’t have additional options,” said Ramona Harding, a Navy veteran who lives on a 10-acre farm in Midway.

Currently, the state has two medical marijuana dispensaries, both of which are based in Central Texas, and a third one that has been deactivated, according to lawmakers. Because state law requires those dispensaries to drive products they sell in other parts of Texas back to a designated storage site every day, overhead costs are high, which has contributed to the expensive medical marijuana products.

A $15 bag of hemp-derived THC gummies purchased online could be more effective than a $75 bag of medical marijuana gummies, hemp supporters have said.

Many rural Texans also don’t have insurance to pay for the doctor’s visits required to sign up for the program and medical marijuana usually isn’t a covered benefit under most plans. The costs to participate start to add up, Mabry said.

“There is only a select number of doctors who can do it, so you have to travel, and anytime something touches a doctor’s hand, it costs more,” he said.

Legislation passed earlier this year expanded the medical marijuana program by increasing the number of dispensaries and satellite locations while offering more types of products to users and removing the storage restriction. Medical marijuana producers say the law will help drop prices and increase accessibility but that it could take a few years to happen, including in rural Texas.

Even when the dispensaries expand, some families are unsure if it will still meet their complicated needs.

When Piper Lindeen’s son Zach became the second child to be accepted into the state’s medical marijuana program, she felt pride. After fighting for several years, she and her husband finally had legal access to medical cannabis products that could slow down their son’s severe seizures.

At least that’s what they thought.

Although the Lindeens remain in the program to support it, Zach doesn’t use medical marijuana because some of the chemicals removed from it under state regulations are needed to stop their son’s seizures. They order hemp products from Oregon, which could become illegal if lawmakers approve a ban.

“There is no hope to control his seizures, and we tried,” the Sugar Land resident said of the medical marijuana program.

Amy Harper and Romana Harding embrace during an interview on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, outside of Midway, TX. — Amy Harper and Romana Harding embrace during an interview on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, outside of Midway. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune

Combating alcohol and opioid addiction

In June, the Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Deep East Texas, the Andrea’s Project in Amarillo, the Sheriffs Association of Texas, along with other anti-drug groups, sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott asking him to ban THC due to concern for children and the risk of impaired driving increasing.

Perry has said multiple times that cannabis might be responsible for veteran suicide, not preventing it, and has questioned the medical benefits since studies he has seen show long-term use causes dementia.

With all those risks and the lack of resources in rural communities to address them, some rural lawmakers like Perry fear THC could wreak havoc in the neighborhoods they represent.

Research has yet to definitively show what long-term impacts of THC use in a community can be, but rural users said they envision safer environments free from more dangerous addictions like alcoholism and opioid abuse.

“I know so many people who have used [hemp-derived THC] to get off tobacco, alcohol, or other pills… and I think that is one of the biggest things it could be used for,” Harding said.

All 177 rural counties in Texas are federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas for Mental Health, meaning there are not a lot of addiction treatment options in these regions.

A 2022 study by UT Health San Antonio’s substance use disorder response program, Be Well Texas, found that more opioid prescriptions are dispensed to rural Texas residents per capita than to urban residents, contributing to increasing overdose rates and illegal drug markets.

For Harding, cannabis is how she can function each day, as she bears the physical and mental scars from a rape she endured while in service. If cannabis is taken away, she said her only other options are either the pills that were killing her liver slowly or alcohol, which killed her mother, father and brother.

“I have run into so many people and lawmakers who are like, ‘Well, go have some whiskey’. No. It killed my family, and it almost killed me. Alcohol isn’t the answer for everyone in Texas,” she said

THC edibles on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, outside of Midway, TX. — Rural Texas farmers told The Texas Tribune earlier this year that banning THC would mean they would have to stop growing hemp altogether. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune

The economic costs of a ban

While there isn’t specific data on how many THC shops have opened in the rural parts of the state, a 2025 report by Whitney Economics, which studies data and does economic reports on global hemp and cannabis industries, found the number of physical locations had increased from 5,072 in 2022 to 7,550 in 2024 and was steadily growing all around Texas.

Hemp-related licenses have increased steadily since 2022 for both retailers and manufacturers, the latter of which are usually located in the rural parts of the state. The $5.5 billion industry is estimated to employ more than 53,000 workers, receiving $2.1 billion in wages.

Rural Texas farmers told The Texas Tribune earlier this year that banning THC would mean they would have to stop growing hemp altogether, even if it’s not going to be consumed, because there’s no way to have or manufacture this plant with no detectable THC in it.

Whitney Economics estimated a complete THC ban would shift $10.2 billion in economic activity out of the state, and it would disrupt the hemp supply chain throughout the United States.

“The worst part is if this ban goes through, it’s going to send thousands of farmers, workers, retailers, and more around here and all over the state, belly-up, and for what? No reason,” said Mabry.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/01/texas-rural-thc-hemp-cannabis-marijuana/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

The post Rural Texas uses THC for health and economy appeared first on feeds.texastribune.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article largely highlights the struggles of rural Texans with substance abuse and limited medical options, emphasizing empathy for cannabis users and advocating for their access to hemp-derived THC products. It critiques restrictive legislation supported by conservative lawmakers and stresses the potential harm a ban could cause both economically and socially. The presentation leans toward supporting cannabis use as a harm reduction tool and addresses public health needs, reflecting a perspective more aligned with center-left viewpoints that favor drug policy reform and expanded healthcare access.

News from the South - Texas News Feed

Longhorns receiver lets everyone know the difference between Arch Manning, Quinn Ewers

Published

21 hours ago

July 31, 2025

Staff Editor

www.kxan.com – Billy Gates – 2025-07-31 22:26:00

SUMMARY: Texas wide receiver DeAndre Moore compares quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning, saying the main difference is speed—calling one “baby wheels” and the other “super wheels.” Moore, a junior who caught 39 passes for 456 yards and seven touchdowns last season, will see an expanded role and appreciates Arch Manning’s faster, zip-style passes. Now a leader among Longhorns receivers, Moore learned leadership from past teammates and is still developing his style. He aims high, targeting Texas touchdown records, over 1,200 yards, the Biletnikoff Award, and contributing as a punt returner—ready to build on last season’s foundation.

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The post Longhorns receiver lets everyone know the difference between Arch Manning, Quinn Ewers appeared first on www.kxan.com