“The top of the agenda for me will be education, resources, infrastructure, the things that will help Texans cope with the tremendous growth we’re seeing in this state, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus told reporters last week in response to other leaders’ declared priorities. Final Adequate Yearly ... Keep Reading

Commissioner of Education Michael L. Williams announced last week that he is deferring implementation of the 15 percent grading requirement for the 2012-2013 school year. Under the rule connected to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) end-of-course examinations, a student’s ... Keep Reading

State Board of Education members met before Thanksgiving and identified five legislative priorities for the Texas Legislature including: allocating necessary funds to cover the cost of the instructional materials; repealing the 15 percent requirement; re-naming the minimum graduation program to the ... Keep Reading

The 150 members of the Texas House who will be assembling in January will include 43 new legislators and 24 sophomores. That’s almost half the Texas House. These freshmen and sophomores will have a steep learning curve in order to effectively represent their constituents. The legislative session ... Keep Reading

ELECTION DAY IS TOMORROW. VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! Lynn Moak, a leading education analyst in Texas for nearly five decades, told state District Judge John Dietz this week that nearly half of Texas' ninth-graders — about 150,000 — aren't on track to graduate because they failed at least one of the state's ... Keep Reading

As of October 26, a total of 858 school districts representing more than 4.3 million students have adopted the testing resolution opposing the over-reliance on high-stakes testing. That represents 84 percent of Texas school districts and 90 percent of all Texas public schools. House Speaker Joe ... Keep Reading

Tax collections are up 11.6 % from last year, spurred by continued strength in energy and manufacturing sectors. The key revenue source has increased 30 straight months. All state agencies are reviewed every 12 years for efficiency and continued relevance. This process is called Sunset Review and ... Keep Reading

Joe Brown, founding member and past president of the Texans for Advancement of Medical Research (TAMR), and The Alliance for Medical Research (TAMR-Ed), passed away on October 10, 2012 after a lengthy illness. Many of you knew Joe as a tireless advocate for medical research that may lead to ... Keep Reading

The five days I spent in Istanbul with Syrian democracy advocates was enlightening, as most of these trips are for me. The participants were all young -- in their mid twenties to mid thirties. They were Arab and Kurdish, Muslim and Christian, women and men. Several of the men had been detained ... Keep Reading

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst announced new chairmanships of Senate Committees this week, choosing Sen. Dan Patrick, Republican from Houston, to head the Senate Education Committee. Patrick’s appointment aligns Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Commissioner Michael L Williams and the chair of ... Keep Reading