‘We’re Not Just Some Bureaucrats’: DOE Employees on How Their Work Helps Texas Students
Department of Education workers and union leaders in Texas say kids will pay the price for Trump’s decision to “break this system.”
Josephine Lee
Josephine Lee is a staff writer at the Texas Observer. She has previously worked as an educator and community organizer. Her reporting on labor, environment, politics, and education has been featured in Salon, The Daily Beast, Truthout, and other outlets. She was raised in and lives in Houston.
Articles by Josephine Lee
These Librarians Won’t Let America’s Fever Hit Fahrenheit 451
A new documentary shows us our local guardians of intellectual freedom in battle.
Marathon Hearing on School Vouchers Features Intense Bipartisan Opposition
“There is a disconnect between the rhetoric and what the bill actually says,” Democrat James Talarico summarized of House Bill 3.
How Voucher Vendors Could Make Millions from ‘School Choice’ in Texas
The Legislature’s current proposals put a handful of private contractors in the driver’s seat. Other states have already seen problems.
Did Mike Miles’ Former Charter School Network Fail to Provide Required Classes?
A Third Future Schools-Texas elementary school in Midland has been accused of neglecting social studies and physical education.
Public Education Bills: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Conservative state lawmakers have filed hundreds of bills targeting the school finance system, LGBTQ+ students, undocumented immigrant children, and more.
TEA Exoneration of Mike Miles’ Charter Schools Leaves Questions Unanswered, Raises New Ones
An agency report challenging media stories overlooks the charter schools’ compliance with federal tax and state business laws, on the watch of the now-HISD superintendent, while revealing new out-of-state payments.
What Trump 2.0 Could Mean for Public Education
Houston native and education expert Diane Ravitch urges a fight for "the future of Texas, and for the future of the children" under Trump's proposed reforms.
Texas’ Hotbed of Taiwanese Nationalism
For decades, Houston families like mine have helped keep the flame of independence burning.
‘They Bought a Legislature’: What the GOP’s Gains Mean for Vouchers in Texas
Republicans nearly ran the table in state House races, shoring up Governor Abbott’s school voucher majority for the 2025 session.