Latest news with #PublicSchools
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Texas lawmakers' negotiations over judicial pay raises go down to the wire as legislative session ends
Lawmakers at the Texas Capitol negotiated over a single bill Monday afternoon before adjourning sine die. The final measure, Senate Bill 293, increases starting annual salaries for state judges from $140,000 to $175,000. The House and Senate had disagreed over one key issue: pensions for state lawmakers, which are tied to judges' salaries. The House opposed a pension increase for legislators, while the Senate supported it. Under the compromise reached Monday, lawmakers' pensions will increase now, but starting in 2030, the Texas Ethics Commission — not lawmakers — will determine future pension adjustments. Getty Images Among the major bills passed this session: A $1 billion school voucher program allowing students to use tax dollars to attend private schools. $8.5 billion in new funding for public schools. $10 billion in additional property tax relief. A $1 billion biennial investment in water infrastructure to create new sources and repair leaking pipes, pending voter approval in November. Legislation allowing ERCOT, the state's electric grid operator, to shut off power to large users like data centers, provided they have backup power. Bills ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) considerations in school district hiring. Measures expanding parental and school board control over public school library content. Other legislation includes abolishing the Texas Lottery Commission and transferring oversight to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, banning cellphones for K-12 students in schools, and requiring Apple and Google to verify users' ages on their apps. Several bills failed to pass, including one that would have replaced the STAAR standardized test and another that would have required Dallas Area Rapid Transit to return 25% of collected sales tax revenue to member cities. "This has been a pretty rough session. I think Democrats are going to come back invigorated. We're going to go into this next election cycle with fire in our eyes, and I think we want the public to come join us. We now hear the cries of the public," said state Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. "The things that I and my voters will consider wins are probably not the things that Rep. Wu and his constituents might view as wins. But when I go back home and we have over $44 million in new dollars coming to our public schools, that's a win," said state Rep. Shelby Slawson, R-Stephenville, vice chair of the House GOP Caucus. Watch "Eye on Politics" at 7:30 a.m. Sunday on CBS News Texas, on air and streaming. Follow Jack on X: @cbs11jack
LBCI
3 days ago
- General
- LBCI
Lebanon announces school holiday for Eid al-Adha from June 6 to 9
Lebanese Education Minister Rima Karami announced that all public schools, secondary schools, and vocational institutes will be closed for Eid al-Adha from Friday morning, June 6, until Monday evening, June 9, 2025.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Inside the fight against the Oklahoma's plan to push Trump's big election lie in schools
Director of "We're Oklahoma Education" Erica Watkins joins "The Weekend" to share what she and other local parents are doing to fight against the Oklahoma Public Schools plan to teach Trump's Big Election Lie as fact in high school civics classes.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas legislature approves $338B state budget for next two years
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Legislature has come to an agreement on the $338 billion budget that will fund state agencies and priorities over the next two fiscal years, including billions in property tax relief, billions in additional dollars for public schools and a new education savings account, and additional dollars for childcare. By law, the appropriations bill is the only piece of legislation the legislature must pass when they convene every two years. State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R – Friendswood — the chair of the House Appropriations Committee — laid out the final version of the bill on the House floor. 'This is a very responsible balanced budget that falls within all of our constitutional and statutory spending limits, and it meets the needs of our rapidly growing state,' Bonnen said. Bonnen laid out just some of the highlights of the bill. The budget addresses the workload on the Department of Public Safety as the state continues to grow by allocating $319 million to add an additional 467 new state troopers along with another $102 million to improve drivers license services. Lawmakers also approved a $10.4 billion investment in behavioral health services, including dollars for research and prevention of mental health disorders. More than $2 billion will go toward increasing the wages of personal care attendants from $10.60 an hour to $13 an hour. There is also money to help with a gap in healthcare in the state's rural areas. About $100 million will be added to the state's rural hospital grant program to help keep hospitals in these areas funded and open as many are closing their doors. The appropriations bill also includes $51 billion of property tax relief. That includes a measure — pending approval from voters in November — that will increase the homestead exemption for homeowners from $100,000 to $140,000. Supporters said it will save the average homeowner $500 annually. The final version of the budget increases the Foundation School Program by more than $13 billion to a total of $75.1 billion in all funds. The FSP is the primary source of state funding for public schools. In terms of education, the bill provides for the additional $8.5 billion of new funding for public schools and $1 billion for the state's newly adopted education savings account program, which will allow families to apply for state dollars to be used toward paying for private education. State Rep. Donna Howard, D – Austin, supports the appropriations bill but did mention that the new dollars for public funding still fall short of what schools need to catch back up with the costs of inflation and the lack of new state funding in previous sessions. 'Though it's not enough to get schools back to where they were in 2019, it's far better than current law or what the House and Senate were proposing back in January,' Howard said. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick praised the budget and the work of Senate Finance Chair Joan Huffman. Patrick issued a statement after the Senate passed the legislation, noting investments in the electrical grid and water infrastructure that he said keep the state on 'a path to sustainable growth.' Patrick also highlighted plans to boost dementia research. 'The budget funds the creation of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT), which will bring the best Dementia researchers and care providers to our state,' Patrick wrote. Voters will decide in November whether to establish DPRIT and transfer $3 billion to the Dementia Prevention & Research Fund from state general revenue to provide funding over the next 10 years. The appropriations bill will now head to the State Comptroller for certification. The comptroller will confirm that the spending bill does not exceed the amount of revenue available. After certification, the bill heads to the governor for approval. The governor does have the power to line-item veto specific appropriations in the bill. Once signed, the bill becomes law. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
India Gazette
4 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
Nodal officers appointed for Karnataka Public Schools project
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 31 (ANI): The state government on Saturday appointed nodal officers to coordinate and expedite the construction of CSR-funded Karnataka Public Schools, as per a release. Commissioner for Industrial Development Gunjan Krishna has been appointed as the coordinating officer, and Karnataka State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and MD Khushboo G Chowdhary have been appointed as the CEO. The two officers will work with various corporates to mobilise CSR funds for the Karnataka Public Schools. The Karnataka Public Schools is a dream project of the DCM to upgrade educational infrastructure in rural schools and provide high quality education to students from rural areas. All the schools would be built with CSR funds from corporates. The decision to appoint nodal officers was taken in view of the slow progress in setting up 2000 Karnataka Public Schools in the state. The two officers will work to expedite the execution of this project. In another move, the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah issued strong instructions to officials across state during a progress review meeting and stated that districts must work to reduce the percentage of severely malnourished children by at least one percent every year. Addressing the issue of malnourished children, the CM said that although the problem cannot be eliminated overnight due to social challenges, districts must work to reduce the percentage of severely malnourished children by at least 1 per cent every year. He issued this directive to the Deputy Commissioners of Bidar, Vijayanagar, and Ballari. 'There are social reasons why it's not possible to eliminate the issue all at once. Therefore, reducing the percentage by 1 per cent every year can help,' he said. The meeting, attended by ministers and senior bureaucrats, witnessed the CM giving clear directives aimed at improving governance and service delivery. He also emphasised continuous health monitoring of children, including tracking haemoglobin levels, and questioned the lack of visible improvements in nutritional status despite the provision of milk, eggs, and supplements. 'A scientific report must be prepared to understand why there is no progress. Based on that, corrective steps should be taken,' the CM said. (ANI)
