It was a telling diversion in an otherwise agreeable budget meeting to watch a pair of Democratic senators try to make Patrick, the usually tight-fisted tea party favorite, defend the extra cost of his school reform plans.
The Lead: A Bush was back in the Texas Capitol yesterday. Jeb Bush, that is. The former Florida governor was a guest of Sen. [...]
But between the guest of honor’s last name and his tremendous faith in high-stakes testing, visiting the Senate chamber this morning felt a lot less like reform than a trip back to 1999.
State budget cuts to family planning hit hardest in rural areas, where low-income women had fewer options to begin.
Dallas Rep. Dan Branch has introduced a bill that could tie up to 25 percent of higher ed funding to “outcomes” like quick graduation, doubling down on a controversial proposal he backed last session.