Latest news with #TEA
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Houston ISD Faces Extended TEA Control Until 2027, New Board Appointed
(Texas Scorecard) – Houston Independent School District will remain under the control of the Texas Education Agency through at least June 1, 2027. Alongside the extended timeline, TEA also announced the replacement of four members of the state-appointed Board of Managers. TEA took control of Houston ISD in 2023 after years of chronic student underperformance and governance failures. The state replaced the elected school board, appointed Superintendent Mike Miles, and implemented a series of aggressive reforms. Since the takeover, Houston ISD has reduced the number of D- and F-rated campuses from 121 in 2023 to 41 in 2024, according to preliminary reporting. Despite progress, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath emphasized the need for continued state involvement to ensure long-term improvement. 'Houston ISD has always been a district with some of the highest performing schools in the country, but it was also a district that allowed some of its schools to fail students for over a decade,' Morath said. Ultimately, two years has not been enough time to fix district systems that were broken for decades. The extension of this intervention will allow the district to build on its progress and achieve lasting success for students once the board transitions back to elected leadership. To conclude the intervention, Houston ISD must eliminate all multi-year failing campuses, fully comply with state and federal special education laws, and demonstrate effective board governance. Earlier this year, Houston ISD spent hundreds of millions of dollars without the required board approval. Community reactions remain divided. Parent and advocacy groups praised the focus on student achievement, while critics have questioned the transparency of the appointment process and urged greater community input. The new Houston ISD Board appointees are: Edgar Colón: Legal expert and political science lecturer Lauren Gore: Harvard Law graduate and general partner at LDR Growth Partners Marty Goossen: Retired vice chairman of J.P. Morgan Private Bank Marcos Rosales: Trial lawyer at Beck Redden LLP Brina Morales, director of communications for the Greater Houston Partnership, celebrated the TEA extension, writing, 'Commissioner Morath is right to extend the period of reform to ensure these improvements take hold long-term, significantly impacting generations of students.'
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Corcept Therapeutics Inc (CORT) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Revenue Growth Amid ...
Release Date: May 05, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Corcept Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CORT) reported a revenue increase to $157.2 million in Q1 2025, up from $146.8 million in the same quarter last year. The company is confident in its future growth prospects, with a significant increase in the prescriber base and patient growth for hypercortisolism treatments. Corcept Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CORT) has expanded its sales force significantly, from 60 to 125 clinical specialists, with plans to reach 175 by year-end. The company's Catalyst study showed that 1 in 4 patients with difficult-to-control diabetes have hypercortisolism, highlighting a significant market opportunity. Corcept Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CORT) is advancing its oncology portfolio, with positive results from the Rosella trial in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, showing a 30% reduction in disease progression risk. Net income decreased to $20.5 million in Q1 2025 from $27.8 million in the same quarter last year. The company faced operational challenges with its pharmacy vendor, affecting Q1 results due to insufficient capacity to handle increased prescription volumes. A transition to authorized generic tablets, which have a lower net price, led to a 13% decrease in average price per tablet. Corcept Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CORT) is involved in ongoing patent litigation with TEA, which could impact future market dynamics. The company's ALS trial did not meet its primary endpoint, although there was an observed improvement in overall survival, indicating potential regulatory challenges. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Signs with CORT. Q: Can you explain where Relacorilant fits into the treatment paradigm for ovarian cancer, and how it compares to other treatments like Elaheir? A: Roberto Viera, President of the Oncology Division, explained that Relacorilant is poised to become a new standard of care in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The treatment landscape is fragmented, and Relacorilant offers a new option in multiple lines of therapy, including before or after biomarker-driven agents like Elaheir. Q: With the improvements in March and April, how will this affect revenue projections for the upcoming quarters? A: Sean Maduk, President of the Endocrinology Division, stated that the fundamentals of the business are strong, and growth is expected to continue and accelerate throughout the year. The company is confident in achieving its revenue guidance of $900 to $950 million. Q: What is the mix between branded and authorized generic business for Korlym, and how does it affect revenue projections? A: Sean Maduk noted that over half of the product is currently on the authorized generic, and this percentage is expected to increase. Future volume growth is expected to outweigh any price changes due to the mix of products. Q: Are you expecting an advisory committee meeting for Relacorilant's NDA? A: Charlie Robb, Chief Business Officer, stated that they do not expect an advisory committee meeting, as it was not required for Korlym or other recently approved drugs in hypercortisolism. Q: What corrective measures did the pharmacy vendor take to improve operations, and can they meet future demand? A: Sean Maduk explained that the pharmacy vendor addressed staffing issues that led to prescription delays. The vendor has since improved operations, and the company is exploring broader distribution networks for future products like Relacorilant. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Unproven school board governance training in Texas is all hat and no cattle
Under the guise of improving academic outcomes, the Texas Education Agency has required some public school districts across Texas to adopt Lone Star Governance, a program that includes coaching and training for school board members. Texans who care about efficient government and local control should be concerned with the state's interference and how money is being diverted away from schools to well-connected consultants for an unproven and costly enterprise that is all hat and no cattle. According to the TEA, Lone Star Governance is a continuous improvement model, 'founded on research' and focused on 'improving student outcomes.' TEA has required the board of trustees in several districts — including Austin ISD, Fort Worth ISD and Houston ISD — to adopt Lone Star Governance to address various issues, from special education-related failures to persistent low performance on state standardized assessments. However, as education researchers, we are concerned that TEA is requiring public school districts spend public funds on an approach with no evidence of effectiveness. A TEA-created flyer claims that districts implementing Lone Star Governance saw, on average, a 10-point increase in accountability scores between 2018 and 2019, compared to 3 points for districts not using that model. The flyer does not indicate which districts were part of this calculation. However, according to information we obtained from TEA through a public records request, starting in the 2017-18 school year, 13 districts were formally engaged in Lone Star Governance. We were wary of drawing conclusions about Lone Star Governance from such a small group of districts over one year. So we tracked accountability score changes between 2018 and 2023 for all districts that had been involved in Lone Star Governance in 2018 and 2019. In this time, overall district accountability ratings for Lone Star Governance districts declined 12.4 points, a much steeper decline than those districts not using that model (7.4-point decline). The gap in average accountability ratings actually widened between districts using Lone Star Governance and those that didn't. In 2018, the average accountability rating in Lone Star Governance districts was only two points below other districts (84 vs. 86 points). By 2023, this gap widened to seven points (74 vs. 81 points). Several districts that were required to adopt Lone Star Governance five years ago are now facing potential state intervention because of a lack of progress on improving student outcomes. TEA required the program in Houston ISD, where trainees have characterized Lone Star Governance as 'a fear-based system of control' where 'any sort of independent thought is not tolerated.' Houston ISD's accountability rating has declined since its forced adoption of Lone Star Governance. Fort Worth ISD adopted Lone Star Governance in 2018, but, similarly, the district's state accountability ratings have declined. TEA has forced Austin ISD to adopt Lone Star Governance twice — first in 2016 and again in 2024. Yet, Austin ISD has not experienced substantial improvement in its state accountability ratings. The need for repeated training calls into question the effectiveness of Lone Star Governance and begs the question: Who is benefiting from this costly, unproven training? In 2024, Austin ISD was required to pay $60,000 to a national organization called the Council of Great City School (CGCS) for Lone Star Governance training and coaching. The person who leads CGCS's governance efforts — including facilitating Lone Star Governance workshops across the state — is AJ Crabill, a former TEA deputy commissioner who was appointed in 2016 by TEA Commissioner Mike Morath. Texas is unique in that the state has unilateral authority to require districts to spend funds on this unproven school board training. However, several districts across the United States have also adopted Crabill's governance training — nationally known as Student Outcomes Focused Governance. The effectiveness of this training in these districts is now under scrutiny, too. For example, Seattle Public Schools has spent approximately $300,000 on Student Outcomes Focused Governance and has seen little academic progress. Texans care about the efficient use of taxpayer dollars, especially when it comes to educating our state's children. Requiring already-cash-strapped districts spend public tax dollars on unproven training with zero evidence of effectiveness is the opposite of efficient. Instead, state interventions should prioritize proven strategies, such as evidence-based professional development for teachers and investments into mental health supports for students. Rachel S. White is an associate professor, and David DeMatthews is a professor of education, in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Required 'Lone Star' training isn't helping school districts | Opinion
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill expanding school misconduct investigations, Do-Not-Hire registry heads to governor
AUSTIN (KXAN) – In a 134-2 vote on Tuesday, the Texas House gave initial approval to a bill targeting what Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, called 'dangerous loopholes' in the state's misconduct registries. Senate Bill 571 is expected to head to the governor's desk soon. Sen. Bettencourt vowed to pass a bill during the 89th legislative session to expand access to the state's Do Not Hire registries and expand the Texas Education Agency's ability to investigate misconduct following a KXAN investigation. Our investigation found that a former juvenile corrections officer was able to get a tutoring job at an Austin Independent School District campus, despite the Texas Juvenile Justice Department's Office of Inspector General already determining he had an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile. The former corrections officer, Isaiah Xavier Smith, is now in jail in Lee County, facing multiple charges of Indecency with a Minor related to his employment at Giddings State School and his time tutoring on an Austin ISD campus. Austin ISD officials said non-profit Austin Partners in Education hired Smith and assigned him as a tutor to one of their campuses. The non-profit told KXAN that Smith did not disclose during the hiring process that he was previously employed by TJJD or the allegations he was facing within the agency. The sweeping 72-page bill allows the Texas Education Agency to compel school districts to report when volunteers, contractors or subcontractors are suspected of misconduct. The bill would also grant contractors, like Austin Partners in Education, access to the Interagency Reportable Conduct Search Engine. When complete, the search engine will include state misconduct information from several agencies, including TEA, TJJD, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, and Texas Health and Human Services. The database is not finished despite the legislature approving its creation in 2023. SB 571 also expands the list of convictions that would result in a mandatory termination and loss of certification to include felony offenses of public indecency or an improper relationship between an educator and a student. A bill analysis from the Senate Research Center explains that school employees, including third-party service providers, can be placed on TEA's Do Not Hire registry for inappropriate communications with students, failing to maintain appropriate boundaries with students, or physically mistreating or threatening violence to a student. The bill has received criticism over a confidentiality provision added to the bill that makes records related to the TEA or the State Board of Education Certification's review or investigation of a misconduct allegation confidential and not subject to disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
New deal would inject $8.5 billion in new money for Texas public schools
New deal would inject record $8.5 billion in new money for Texas public schools New deal would inject record $8.5 billion in new money for Texas public schools New deal would inject record $8.5 billion in new money for Texas public schools The Texas Senate could vote on a new public school funding bill as early as Thursday that would inject a record $8.5 billion in new money for the state's school districts. That is a $500 million increase from the most recent version of the legislation and comes after lawmakers in the House and Senate struck a new deal Wednesday afternoon. Republicans say the $8.5 billion increase in public school funding represents the largest single increase in state history. About half of this new money, $4.2 billion, is for teacher pay raises, the largest in state history. Other non-administrative staff will receive a total of $500 million. Teachers with three plus years of experience would receive a raise and that increase would double in year five. Teachers in rural school districts and five plus years of experience would receive up to $8,000 more. Free pre-K is available for teachers as well. The state will also invest $135 million for teacher preparation and certification programs that will see the phasing out of uncertified teachers by 2030. Those are teachers who have no formal, in-classroom training before being hired. The TEA said last year, 56% of first-time teachers were uncertified. The deal also increases per-student funding by $1,600. There would be an extra $300 million for small and mid-sized school districts and an additional $800 million for growing and rural districts. School safety funding would increase by $430 million. Special education programs would receive an extra $850 million. The Texas Senate is expected to approve the bill. It will then head to the House. Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 Sunday morning on CBS News Texas on air and streaming
