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4-day school weeks, gaining in popularity, face pushback from lawmakers
MINERAL WELLS, Texas — Desperate to fill open positions amid a statewide teacher shortage, school officials in this rural North Texas city of about 15,000 chose to follow the lead of neighboring districts by converting to a four-day school week at the start of the current student year. “We decided if we can’t beat them, […]
Universities Grapple With Diversity Policies After GOP Crackdown
AUSTIN, Texas — In July 2020, the president of Texas A&M University appointed a 45-member commission to examine the progress of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the nearly 70,000-student flagship campus in College Station. The panel’s report, released in January 2021, found both strengths and weaknesses in the school’s approach. But overall, said the […]
Texas Town Tries a New Model for Saving Rural Health Care
BOWIE, Texas — After sitting empty and exposed to thieves and vandals for more than two years, the one-story hospital that served Bowie for more than five decades is close to making a comeback — of sorts. Reflecting the struggles facing hospitals throughout rural America, Bowie Memorial Hospital has closed twice since 2015, the first […]
The Push to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession Continues, Town by Town
KILLEEN, Texas — As he plied the streets of Killeen in his silver Volvo SUV on a recent Sunday, Louie Minor recalled his time as a deputy constable whose duties included arresting marijuana users. Minor, a 43-year-old Iraq war veteran, wanted to reach as many voters as possible in a mission that might have seemed […]
Governors Split on Biden’s Call to Pardon Low-Level Pot Offenders
AUSTIN, Texas — When President Joe Biden earlier this month granted blanket pardons to more than 6,500 Americans convicted of marijuana possession under federal law, he urged governors to pardon the much greater number of low-level marijuana offenders in their states. But the response from governors has been mixed. Some Democratic governors are taking steps toward […]
Prison Staff Shortages Take Toll on Guards, Incarcerated People
HOUSTON — The pay is rising — but so are average temperatures, and because many of the workplaces are not air-conditioned, toiling for this employer often means broiling in the Texas heat. The job is stable and recession-proof but also potentially dangerous, with an ever-present threat of violence. There are drawbacks to being a prison […]
Searing Heat Spotlights West’s Long-Term Water Woes
HAYS COUNTY, Texas — Located near the resort community of Wimberly, just 45 miles southwest of Austin, Jacob’s Well has earned a near-legendary reputation as one of the most popular swimming holes in the Central Texas Hill Country. Hundreds come to the artesian spring each summer to dip into blue-green waters that flow from an […]
In Texas, Where Abortion Rights Began, GOP Builds New Barriers
Read more Stateline coverage on how states are either protecting or curbing access to abortions. AUSTIN, Texas — Linda Coffee was in her mid-20s and barely out of law school when she and former classmate Sarah Weddington stunned the legal establishment—and much of America—by successfully arguing Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion […]
GOP Targets Tenure to Curb Classroom Discussions of Race, Gender
AUSTIN, Texas — When he blew the whistle on a university dean suspected of financial malfeasance, college professor Jeff Blodgett had to weather a fierce attack from the dean’s allies. “If I didn’t have tenure,” he recalled, “they would have done their best to get rid of me.” Blodgett, who has taught at four universities […]
Librarians Decry GOP Moves to Ban Books in Schools
AUSTIN, Texas — Outraged at the parents and politicians who are trying to rid school libraries of books they denounce as inappropriate or even pornographic, a band of Texas school librarians is fighting back. Shortly after Texas state Rep. Matt Krause called for the state’s school libraries to review a list of 850 books for […]
‘Forget the Alamo’ Depicts A Racist Heritage, Sparking Backlash
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Should William Barret Travis, whose name is enshrined on schools, monuments and public buildings across Texas, continue to be honored solely as the valiant commander who led vastly outnumbered defenders of the Alamo in their doomed 13-day siege in the 1836 battle for state independence? Or should he also be seen […]
Low-Income People of Color Bear Brunt of Rising Pedestrian Deaths
HOUSTON — On a recent sunlit day, Aboobiada Ali Abdalla stood at the intersection of Tarnef and DeMoss drives in southwest Houston, once again revisiting the tragedy nearly five years ago that forever changed the lives of his family. In August 2016, his 4-year-old son, Mohammed, was killed when he was struck in the crosswalk […]