Legislators are expected to take up a $360 million proposal that would change the landscape of financial aid in the state.   view article

Lawmakers here and in Washington have long debated ending the practice of changing the clocks twice a year.   view article

Creighton, with help from other Republicans, attempted to correct the record on taxpayer-funded lobbying, per-pupil funding, and other topics related to school choice. view article

The president offers strong praise for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Texas Senate.   view article

They urge lawmakers to move the funding toward public school needs, suggesting school facility needs in Helene-affected counties and tutoring. view article

It was another busy week in Austin, and it was a pleasure to welcome more constituents from House District 9 to your Texas State Capitol. Among those who made the long drive from Deep East Texas were folks from Angelina, Polk, San Augustine and Trinity counties representing the Texas Wildlife Association, the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, the Lumberman’s Association of Texas and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. view article

State Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) met with local superintendents from Angelina County last week to discuss education issues ahead of the 89th Legislature. He released a statement on his opposition of Senate Bill 2 Wednesday night.   view article

In a 19-12 vote, Texas senators passed their first bill of the 89th legislative session, Senate Bill 2, Feb. 5. The proposal by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, now heads to the Texas House. SB 2 proposes spending $1 billion annually for education savings accounts, which families could use to help cover the costs of private education. About 100,000 students would qualify for the program, Creighton said. “Across Texas public schools, despite the hard work of our teachers that we value and respect so much and the billions of dollars we spend in our state budget, many students are feeling left behind,” Creighton said on the Senate floor. “That is unacceptable.” view article

Texas Senate Passes School Choice Legislation, Sending it to the House .     view article

The governor said the state resources are available to the federal government and requested that the U.S. reimburse Texas for the border hardening measures under Operation Lone Star.   view article

Texas families could use tax dollars to fund their children’s private school tuition under a Republican-backed bill that sailed through the Senate late Wednesday.  Under Senate Bill 2, families could receive $10,000 a year per student in public taxpayer dollars to fund their children’s tuition at an accredited private school and other expenses like textbooks, transportation and therapy. The legislation would provide $11,500 per student for children with disabilities. It also would provide at least $2,000 a year per student for home-schooling families who participate in the program. Home-schooling students with disabilities could receive $2,500 a year for therapy, a provision lawmakers added into the bill Wednesday. Families would receive the money through state-managed education savings accounts. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott is ready to allow online sports betting in Texas. view article

At a heated and highly politicized higher education hearing in November, just two months before the new Texas legislative session got started, one interim charge seemed to garner rare resounding agreement: K-12 student pathways to higher education must be improved. view article

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott insisted Monday that he would accept nothing less than a robust, universal school choice voucher program, and he resisted calls to join the plan with blanket increases in public school funding. view article

ouse Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) apparently participated in a longstanding Democratic tradition Friday, threatening violence to achieve a political aim. view article

This past week, it was a pleasure to welcome a number of constituents from House District 9 in your Texas State Capitol. Among those who made the long drive from Deep East Texas were elected officials from Tyler County and several residents from Angelina and Polk counties. It always brings such joy to my heart to see folks from back home, and these visits constantly remind me of why I am here in Austin.

Border security doesn’t make top five.  The top three priority bills include SB 1, the Senate’s proposed budget, which is nearly identical to the one proposed in the Texas House; SB 2, which would create a $1 billion Education Savings Account program for 100,000 students; and SB 3, which bans THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. view article

State Rep. Steve Toth’s proposed legislation also adds liability to those who medically or surgically mutilate children.   view article

The executive order is directed toward international students who participated in pro-Hamas protests.   view article

School vouchers, often referred to as “school choice” programs, use public funds to help families pay for their children’s private education. Supporters say families should receive state support to send their child to a different school if public schools aren't adequately serving them. Opponents worry a voucher program would strip vital funds away from already cash-strapped public schools. view article

The Senate could vote on the proposal as soon as next week. Democrats on Tuesday criticized the bill saying it fails to prioritize the state’s neediest children.   view article

Ending birthright citizenship, increasing oil drilling, and leaving WHO are just a few bills the state’s Republicans pushed in Congress this month.  w view article

Speaker Dustin Burrows said the chamber would not vote on a housekeeping resolution as has been customary.   view article

Conservative activists in the GOP caucus called any power sharing with the minority party a betrayal of Republican voters.  view article

Both chambers set aside $1 billion for a voucher-like education savings account program — double what was on the table two years ago — in a sign that supporters are emboldened after recent electoral gains. view article

Speculation swirled on social media about where immigration raids would happen and whether they’d lead to family separations. view article

Texas senator Phil King wants the Christian tenets to be displayed in public schools. view article

Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, won bipartisan support Tuesday as his nomination cleared a Senate committee. view article

Representative Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos opted to vote for ultra-conservative-backed GOP candidate David Cook instead of majority Democratic-supported Speaker-elect Dustin Burrows.   view article

A bipartisan coalition elected Dustin Burrows as House Speaker. The Lubbock Republican defeated Mansfield Rep. David Cook.  The Republican arm wrestling over the Texas House gavel was settled Tuesday — thanks in large part to a coalition of Democrats that backed Rep. Dustin Burrows, the Republican from Lubbock, over his opponent, Republican Rep. David Cook of Mansfield.  view article

After he was elected speaker of the Texas House on Tuesday, Rep. Dustin Burrows promised that his door would be open to everyone in the chamber — even those who supported his rival, Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield. view article

The last time the rules were voted on this late was in 2009, the first session of former Speaker Joe Straus.   view article

Of the $194.6 billion available for general-purpose spending, $176.4 billion comes from general revenue-related funds, and $23.76 billion is in surplus.  view article

The Texas Senate unanimously elected Republican State Sen. Brandon Creighton of Conroe as president pro tempore during the first day of the legislative session. view article

"Speaker Burrows was handed the speakership by Democrats, as has happened behind closed doors session after session since 2009," said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate. "Each of these bills will be passed again by the Texas Senate. The voters will hold our new speaker accountable to keep his promise of being the most conservative speaker in Texas history."       view article