Jim Davis told professors he’ll share their concerns with lawmakers about proposals that would increase oversight on curricula and hiring. Elsewhere on campus, former UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell criticized the bills.

Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.

Supporters say diversity initiatives close educational and income gaps born from a history of prejudice. Republican officials say they prioritize identity over merit.

Gov. Greg Abbott has made water a priority for this legislative session. Lawmakers will debate whether to invest more into new water supplies or repairing old, leaking pipes around Texas.

Diversity, equity and inclusion has become highly politicized — and there’s no standard definition for what it is.

Two-thirds of the state’s roughly 100 jails and prisons in Texas are not fully air conditioned in inmate housing areas.

The new finding is about 20% higher than previous estimates of the known cost of the effort to remove Paxton from office.

Critics fear increased election prosecutions could intimidate voters and local election officials. Attorney General Ken Paxton has long sought more autonomy over election cases.

The measles vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective against the disease, which is highly contagious and can be life threatening.

Adding more funding to scholarships is just one way experts say state lawmakers could address Texas’ child care crisis.

The ads praise 14 Texas Republicans, including House Speaker Dustin Burrows, for their support of education savings accounts.

Lawmakers say several bills under consideration Thursday would “address the unchecked authority of faculty.” They would expand university governing boards’ oversight powers.

The gaps over eligibility and on spending levels are narrower than the fundamental differences of the previous session.

Lawmakers, who are preempting locals on lot sizes in new subdivisions, have been eyeing ways to allow more homes to be built as the state faces a shortage.

The winning ticket, purchased online through the courier Jackpocket, is being scrutinized by lawmakers concerned about the legality of third-party services.

The attorney general office’s lawsuit is based on an undercover video published in February by a conservative activist group.

Patrick says the measure will shut down the dangerous THC products business. The House’s proposal would tighten oversight of the industry without a full ban.

Senate Bill 4, the Texas law that makes illegally crossing the border a state crime, will continue to be challenged by two immigrant rights groups and El Paso County.

Edwards unsuccessfully ran for the seat twice last year. She faced off against U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the 2024 Democratic primary. Jackson Lee won the primary but died before the general election, opening the party’s nomination anew

A proposal to create a statewide system connecting emergency personnel and agencies is among several bills that target problems exposed in 2024.

The proposal aims to make working conditions safer for teachers but critics worry it could push the state’s most vulnerable students out of the classroom.

If the proposal becomes law, Texas would follow in the footsteps of several Democrat- and Republican-led states that have enacted similar bans.

The move comes a few weeks after the Texas A&M System issued a similar ban, which is being challenged in court.

On the fifth anniversary of the start of the COVID pandemic, we discuss the measles outbreak and the state’s ability to respond to health crises.

The rapidly-growing sinkhole in Upton County is the latest of many problems caused by old wells in the Permian Basin.

Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold.

A possible reassignment of the charitable games comes as 15 bills in the Legislature seek to either alter or abolish the troubled agency.

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said Texas A&M is better positioned to grow the Victoria school and serve the region’s petrochemical and agriculture industries.

These represent the first criminal charges under Texas’ near-total abortion ban.

Reps. Cuellar and Gonzalez are moderate Democrats who represent border districts that increasingly vote Republican.

The state opened the facility in Jim Hogg County in 2022.

Proponents say the changes would better serve special education students with widely varying needs — and help schools pay for it.

Emboldened by court rulings and election victories, the Christian right is outspoken as it pushes its moral views through the Texas Legislature.

Most lawmakers — as well as Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — want to invest big in water. Here are the proposals that would do it.

The district has been a Democratic stronghold, held for decades by Sheila Jackson Lee and most recently by former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who died March 5.

Underprepared teachers have been tied to student learning losses. But amid a teacher shortage crisis, school leaders fear the restrictions will lead to fewer instructors in their classrooms.

A Senate bill filed Friday does not expand abortion access, but aims to give doctors clarity while operating under laws that come with up to life in prison.

Per the attorney general’s nonbinding opinion, state agencies should change gender markers on government documents back to a person’s sex assigned at birth.

The Texas universities are among dozens accused of violating the law by partnering with a group that had sought to increase diversity in graduate programs.

Is it just an expression of freedom or a distraction? Lawmakers want to crack down on students acting like their furry friends during school.

The feds are adding thousands of beds to hold families in Texas, which reportedly holds the most immigrants of any state at its 21 detention centers.

Proposed legislation includes increased penalties for retail theft, car burglaries and forgery, among others.

The state House and Senate have similar proposals to solve the state's water crisis, but there are stark differences on how to invest billions of dollars to resolve.

Senate Bill 37 would create a state office to investigate complaints against universities and require governing boards to ensure courses don’t endorse certain ideologies.

Turner, who spent nearly three decades in the Texas House and died last week, was remembered as a passionate Democrat committed to working across the aisle.

The Biden administration had challenged a Republican-led redistricting plan that diluted the political power of minorities. Other legal challenges will continue.

A letter sent this week claims the grant recipients, including many Texas cities and counties, may have illegally “induced” undocumented immigrants to enter the country.

Attorney General Ken Paxton said a recent statement by Dallas’ interim police chief raised concerns that the city might be violating a state law against so-called sanctuary city policies.

George Stewart sued Texas Tech University Health Science Center and five other medical schools claiming they rejected him in favor of lesser qualified students of color.

Water is complex. So are the terms used to describe it. Get to know the language as Texas debates how to save its water supply.

The state’s water supply faces numerous threats. And by one estimate, the state’s municipal supply will not meet demand by 2030 if there’s a severe drought and no water solutions are implemented.

Law students might lose financial aid if TSU does not address health and safety concerns about the building.

Texans who fall behind on their property taxes face one of the most punitive systems in the nation, where private collection companies can tack up to 20% onto their bill.

Texas’ population growth has slowed, but the state’s major urban areas are still adding hundreds of thousands of residents.

A day after the incident in which green flames could be seen coming out of manholes, 40% of the university in Lubbock remains without power.

The proposal is part of a push by Republican legislators aimed at helping property owners deal with squatters.

The bill would have set deadlines for the oil and gas industry to plug inactive wells, which can pose a danger to the environment.

All 20 GOP senators signed on to Senate Bill 16, which would apply to currently registered voters, and restrict some to only congressional elections.

From requiring law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal officials to forcing state contractors to use E-Verify to spot undocumented workers, here are the bills that could reshape the state’s immigration policies.

Although the president has said he wants to “get rid of” the act, Rep. Michael McCaul and Sen. John Cornyn say it supports jobs and national security.

The hearing on House Bill 3 started Tuesday and ended Wednesday morning. Hundreds of Texans waited overnight to testify.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did not clarify why it halted the execution of David Wood in its order granting the stay.

The prominent right-wing pastor told state lawmakers that an anti-communist curriculum is crucial to reaffirming that America is a “Christian country.”

The gang discusses a legislator’s lash out, a lottery scandal, and some big news from one of our own.

The Legislature is considering bills that would lift long-standing restrictions on how Texas’ panel can investigate maternal deaths and near-misses.

The academy offers an inside look at how votes are counted and secured. It’s building confidence — and inspiring similar programs across Texas.

Farmers and elected officials told a Senate committee Monday that the lack of water is becoming dire, with little relief in sight.

Brittany Marlowe Holberg was convicted in 1998 of robbing and murdering an 80-year-old man in his Amarillo home. The appeals court said critical evidence was withheld.

Don McLaughlin isn’t shy about speaking his mind and has disagreed with victims’ families and fellow Republicans. Now he brings his direct style to the Capitol.

The measles outbreak in rural Texas has exposed how hospital buildings are ill-equipped. Meanwhile, long distances between providers makes testing people and transporting samples difficult.

Gustavo Alfonso Garcia Olivares died at 24, drowning in the Rio Grande not far from where he was buried Thursday at the Maverick County Cemetery in Eagle Pass.

Hegar’s impending departure from the comptroller’s seat creates a rare opening for one of Texas’ coveted statewide offices.

Hegar, who currently serves as Texas comptroller, will replace A&M Chancellor John Sharp in leading the 157,000-student system.

Mo Jenkins is one of only a few openly transgender staffers working in the Capitol as lawmakers are making headway in restricting rights for LGBTQ+ Texans.

A new law was meant to uphold standards at homes where substance abusers are trying to rebuild their lives. But compliance is proving difficult.

The new legislative panel has been tasked to reduce the size and scope of government. But Democrats say they’re not interested in replicating Musk’s slash-and-burn approach.

Senate Bill 985 would revise a 2023 law that raised the minimum number of voting locations. County election officials say they’ve struggled to comply with it.

The legislation would require voters to approve the $3 billion start-up cost, and then the fund would be maintained at no more than $300 million annually.

As the Edinburg facility and others seek to assist people experiencing food insecurity, state lawmakers have more than a dozen bills that could tackle Texas’ food deserts.

The Biden administration shuttered the Dilley facility last year because of high operating costs. It’s expected to hold immigrant families under the Trump administration.

The Legislature has tried to clamp down on renewable energy resources in the past, but many lawmakers are recognizing the need to support all types of generation to meet record demand growth.

House Bill 239, which echoes a bathroom bill that failed in 2017, includes new provisions for shelters and prisons.

The directive comes as some state agencies have downsized their office spaces after the pandemic forced many employees to work remotely.

Senate Bill 13 would create school library advisory councils largely made up of parents. It would give school boards, rather than librarians, the final say over new books.

Turner’s death comes two months into his first term representing Texas’ 18th Congressional District, the seat long occupied by former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who also died in office last year amid a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The case could establish the nation’s first independent repository for spent nuclear fuel in West Texas, despite the objections of state leaders.

There is little doubt that a ban will sail through the Senate. But its prospects are far less certain in the House.

Five GOP lawmakers who targeted the exhibit also called for the cancellation of the “Palestinian Children and the Politics of Genocide” lecture, which is still scheduled.

Lawmakers this week listened to testimony on House Bill 2, which would raise schools’ base funding per student by $220 — a figure that falls short of what many Texans say is needed.

The vote comes amid a broader push by conservative Christians to infuse more religion into public schools and life.

Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu criticized the department for treating an August 2024 federal report as “nothing.”

The goal of the new legislation is to help drive down the cost of housing so that more Texans can afford homes.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with University of Texas at Austin professor Sherri Greenberg about proposed state laws related to artificial intelligence.

The bill would require school districts and law enforcement to meet once a year to plan their response to an active shooter situation. It would also mandate annual multi-agency exercise drills on how to respond to an active shooter.

Neither of the Legislature’s voucher bills require private schools to accept certain students, which some warn could block the neediest children from access.

In rural West Texas, measles has sickened nearly 150 people, most of them unvaccinated. A school-age child has died. The virus is spreading among Gaines County’s Mennonite community, where government mandates are not trusted.

Commercial beekeepers in Texas have lost about two thirds of their honey bees since June last year, according to a recent survey.

House and Senate lawmakers plan to spend at least $6 billion on property tax cuts, but haven't yet agreed on how much relief should go to homeowners over businesses.

The move sparked a new First Amendment fight between students and university administrators.

The topic was a budget request from a state agency. The exchange grew emotional when a lawmaker pressed for answers about a strategic plan that praises diversity.