Tag Archives: Royce West
Lawmakers Debate Public School Takeover Bills
Senate Bill 895 would allow the state to take over schools from locally elected school boards and turn them over to a so-called Opportunity School District...Read More
The Eyes of Texas: Are Police Body Cameras Inevitable?
Texas is well on its way to having cops in its major cities equipped with body cameras—but doesn't yet have unified policy on when to turn them on....Read More
Greg Abbott Proposes Statewide District for Struggling Schools
In other states, the school turnaround strategy has meant major charter school expansion
Texas gubernatorial hopeful Greg Abbott is embracing an "achievement school district"—a school turnaround program that could hand public schools over to chart...Read More
Dan Patrick On Parade: Life in the New Senate Education Committee
Dan Patrick’s reign over the Senate Education Committee has been a fascinating mix of empathy and cruelty, peaceful agreement and hostile shouting matches. In...Read More
Senate Passes Charter School Reform Bill After Compromise with Dems
The Senate passed Sen. Dan Patrick’s major charter school reform bill Thursday afternoon, in a version far different from what Patrick introduced earlier this...Read More
Senators Like State-Funded Gun Class for Teachers—But Not its Price Tag
Since Sandy Hook, a handful of Texas school districts have added policies letting some teachers carry guns—Patrick's bill is meant to make that decision safer...Read More
Senate Finance Recommends Closing Dawson State Jail
Is this the end of the nightmare factory called Dawson State Jail? On Monday, the state Senate Finance Committee recommended against renewing Texas’ contract ...Read More
Whitmire, West Ding Patrick on Charter Bill: “We’re Fixing to Create More Government”
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 par...Read More
Faith Leaders Rally for Bipartisan Support of Medicaid Expansion
Legislators in support of an expansion joined faith leaders on the Capitol steps to call for support of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Despite cal...Read More