Latest news with #TribFest
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas to expand how schools discipline students
Texas schools will be able to use harsher punishments to discipline students after the Texas Legislature passed a sweeping package on Wednesday — part of their efforts to stem student violence after the pandemic . 'Disruptions are impeding both the ability of teachers to teach and the ability of students to learn,' said state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock. House Bill 6 would extend how long schools can place students in in-school suspensions from three days to as long as they see appropriate. Principals would need to review the placement every 10 days. Students facing in-school suspension still complete schoolwork in a different classroom on school grounds. Because the bill would allow schools to use out-of-school suspensions to discipline all students when they engage in 'repeated and significant' classroom disruption or threaten the health and safety of other children, it would make it easier for schools to discipline students experiencing homelessness and the state's youngest students. That's because the bill would reverse state laws from 2017 and 2019 that put limitations on when and how those students could be disciplined. When schools do out an out-of-school suspension to students in kindergarten through third grade, they'll need to provide documentation of the students' disruptive behavior. Both chambers have approved the legislation — the Senate last week and the House last month. With the House's approval Wednesday of 19 Senate amendments to the bill, 114-19, it now heads to the governor. The legislation also amends when schools send students to alternative education settings, a strict environment that often leans on computer-based work and is in a different building. While students caught vaping were previously required to go to alternative education settings, schools can now give students caught with a vape device less severe consequences if it is their first offense. Schools can also teach students in alternative education programs remotely — a mode of instruction that was shown to contribute to learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perry, who shepherded the bill in the Senate, said the legislation was six years in the making. 'We've reached a crisis point where there's just some kids that absolutely are such a deterrent to the overall learning process that we have to find a better way,' Perry said on the Senate floor last week. 'With that, HB 6 found that balance. I like where we landed.' The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
TribCast: Dan Patrick and Greg Abbott are getting what they want this legislative session
In this week's episode, Matthew and Eleanor talk with politics reporter Jasper Scherer about education funding, the effort ban THC and how conservative priorities are sailing through the legislative session in Texas this year. And the gang discussed what Eleanor learned about state politics from a recent tennis match. Watch the video above, or subscribe to the TribCast on iTunes, Spotify, or RSS. New episodes every Tuesday. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill that would increase oversight of Texas' largest energy users gets initial approval in Texas House
The Texas House gave initial approval Monday to a bill that would give Texas more oversight over energy transactions between power generators and the state's largest consumers of electricity. Senate Bill 6 also proposes new ways to assess the amount of electricity that is available to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the main manager of the state's grid. The bill now returns to the Senate. Legislators in the upper chamber must agree to the changes made to the bill before it goes to Abbott. The bill would give ERCOT the power to oversee energy transactions between power generators and large consumers that don't involve the state's grid. ERCOT would also have the authority to cut their power and use it during an emergency. State Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, the bill's author, has said his bill will allow the state to better manage electric supply at times of high demand. Power generators and companies said the new oversight measures proposed by the bill would be excessive for a market accustomed to the free trade of energy without requirements imposed by the state. They have said the bill could discourage companies from doing business in Texas. King said the new rules are not meant to do so. 'I think what this bill is seeking to do is set out clear rules where large load customers that want to come to Texas know what they're getting when they get here,' said state Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, who sponsored the bill in the lower chamber. The bill would also require companies to disclose whether they have other projects in the state. Sen. Phil King said this would give ERCOT information to better predict and meet energy demands in the future more accurately. That's necessary to determine the state's electricity needs without overbuilding, which would result in higher rates for everyday consumers, he said. Texas will need almost double the electricity it consumes today to meet a demand driven mainly by data centers and the oil and gas industry, a demand that ERCOT President Pablo Vegas said the grid, in its current state, is capable of meeting when that demand arrives. Lawmakers added and removed some provisions from the bill during a debate in the House on Monday. One amendment got rid of a previously accepted proposal by state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, which gave new large businesses in Texas the option to get electricity faster from the grid if they let ERCOT reduce their power consumption at will. Another amendment approved Monday, introduced by state Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, D-Laredo, would inject any excess electricity back into the grid and use any money from selling that energy to lower water bills for electricity ratepayers. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill to stop flow of abortion pills into Texas clears House panel
A comprehensive crackdown on abortion pills passed out of a Texas House committee Friday, after conservatives criticized leadership for allowing it to languish. Since Texas banned nearly all abortions in 2022, people have found ways to obtain abortion-inducing drugs from a wide range of sources: out-of-state doctors, overseas pharmacies and whisper networks around the state, among other avenues. In response to red state abortion bans, blue states have passed shield laws to protect their providers from criminal or civil penalties for mailing pills. Anti-abortion groups and conservative lawmakers in Texas, frustrated by this easily exploited loophole in the law, have tried to stop this proliferation of pills with lawsuits and legislation. Senate Bill 2880 represents the most wide-ranging effort yet, giving the state a slew of new and legally unprecedented tools. If the bill becomes law, anyone who manufactures, distributes, mails, prescribes or provides abortion-inducing drugs can be sued for up to $100,000, even if the pills aren't proven to be the cause of death for the fetus. It expands the wrongful death statute to encourage men whose partners willingly terminate their pregnancies to sue whoever provided the pills for up to six years after the event. It also empowers the Attorney General to bring lawsuits on behalf of 'unborn children of residents of this state.' The bill also contains a controversial provision that says it cannot be challenged in state court before it is enforced, and a state judge who holds the law to be unconstitutional can be personally sued for $100,000. The bill passed the Senate 19-11 and was referred to the House State Affairs committee, where it lay dormant for three weeks. With the deadline for House committees to pass Senate bills approaching on Saturday, 43 Republican members of the House signed onto a letter, urging Chairman Ken King, a Republican from Canadian, to take up the bill. 'Texas is in crisis,' the letter said, noting that the state's strict abortion laws are 'subverted daily by bad actors who flood our state with dangerous and deadly abortion pills.' To really drive the message home, a group of House members held a press briefing Friday to demand that SB 2880, among other conservative bills, move before the deadline. 'We are in a war right now, and you need to understand we are running out of time,' Rep. Mitch Little, a Lewisville Republican, said. He said that a recent bill to clarify Texas' abortion laws was a 'noble thing to do, but there's a balance to this equation that has to be completed.' Just two hours later, the House State Affairs committee gathered for a last-minute meeting, where they voted 8-5 to move the bill. It now faces another tight turnaround to preliminarily pass the House before the Tuesday deadline. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senators soften student discipline bill, giving Texas schools more flexibility
The Texas Senate, in an about-face, approved a sweeping rewrite of the state's student discipline laws that provides schools with more flexibility to manage student behavior. The final legislation, which included many amendments, moderated portions of the bill the Senate had previously sought to harden. The House must concur before it goes to the governor. 'Disruptions are impeding both the ability of teachers to teach and the ability of students to learn,' said state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, who shepherded the bill in the Senate. 'We have attempted to draft a bill that achieves the goals of both the House and the Senate.' The latest version of House Bill 6 would allow schools to place students in in-school suspensions for as long as they see appropriate, so long as principals review the placement every 10 days. Students facing in-school suspension still complete schoolwork in a different classroom on school grounds. The bill clarifies that those students must be under the supervision of faculty. The legislation also amends current law that requires schools to send students who are caught vaping to alternative education settings, a strict environment that often leans on computer-based work and is in a different building. The House wanted to repeal the law altogether. The Senate's version gives schools flexibility to hand students caught with a vape less severe consequences if it is their first offense. [Classroom violence went up in Texas after the pandemic. Is more discipline the answer?] And because the bill would allow schools to use out-of-school suspensions to discipline all students when they engage in 'repeated and significant' classroom disruption or threaten the health and safety of other children, it would make it easier for schools to discipline homeless students and the state's youngest students. That's because the bill would reverse state laws from 2017 and 2019 that put limitations on when and how those students could be disciplined. Senators on Thursday acknowledged the challenges the youngest students face behaving in the classroom. An amendment Thursday would require schools to provide documentation of disruptive behavior before they doled out an out-of-school suspension to students in kindergarten through third grade. When schools consider removing students with disabilities, they must involve professionals who are knowledgeable about how disabilities manifest. That person may be a special education teacher, a social worker or a school psychologist. Perry on Thursday said the legislation was six years in the making. 'We've reached a crisis point where there's just some kids that absolutely are such a deterrent to the overall learning process that we have to find a better way,' Perry said. 'With that, HB 6 found that balance. I like where we landed.' The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
