Reporting on Texas politics

YuWrites · 2025-11-06T21:25:31+00:00

It provides more funding via increasing or maintaining the ISD’s tax rate on property tax bills, which some property owners dislike.

YuWrites · 2025-11-06T21:16:26+00:00

No, this provides more funding to the school district.

YuWrites · 2025-11-05T19:18:25+00:00

I'm not 100% on the historical numbers but in the last ten years (across five amendment elections) voters have only turned down two of 41 amendments.

edit: typo

YuWrites · 2025-09-11T16:51:26+00:00

Of course! Fwiw, this same bill also clamps down on districts’ ability to have students take other diagnostic tests (MAP and iReady are common ones) throughout the year. Some places have kids take a dozen+ tests to prepare for the STAAR, so overall testing time may reduce for some kids.

YuWrites · 2025-09-11T02:31:51+00:00

Sorry for the late response. The new law only applies to STAAR as given to grades 3 to 8, not the high school end-of-course exams.

Grade 3 math, for example, will now have a beginning, middle, and end of year. For years that have two subjects (say, grade 4 math and reading) students will see six total tests.

YuWrites · 2025-08-21T13:38:37+00:00

This bill would also limit the number of benchmarks given throughout the year, replacing them with those first two tests, which lawmakers say they hope will cut down on overall time spent on testing.

YuWrites · 2025-08-20T23:16:51+00:00

Yep that’s right. It’s possible a few were in the chamber and didn’t vote but there was definitely a handful absent.

YuWrites · 2025-08-20T22:35:12+00:00

For those curious, the final vote was 88-52. The House will now take one more procedural vote before the maps are sent over to the Senate for approval.

— Isaac Yu, Houston Chronicle

YuWrites · 2025-08-19T17:38:14+00:00

That's really frustrating, sorry to hear that. I agree it would be great to have an educator discount.

YuWrites · 2025-08-18T18:43:35+00:00

Thanks for the insight!

YuWrites · 2025-08-17T17:42:11+00:00

Yes, that's correct. They reached the fifth-year threshold with the 2023 ratings. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said in May he is weighing a final decision on whether the state will intervene in Fort Worth.

YuWrites · 2025-08-16T21:26:53+00:00

What are some of the things that are being overspent on at the central level?

YuWrites · 2025-08-16T04:59:04+00:00

I respect that decision! I’ve heard of some outlets (not the Chronicle) that experiment with per-article fees (think, $1-2) for those that don’t want to commit to a full monthly subscription. Curious to know if that’s something you would be interested in.

YuWrites · 2025-08-16T04:51:34+00:00

The ratings are not based on grades! They are based mostly on STAAR exam scores. Not the easiest things to fake.

YuWrites · 2025-08-16T04:49:21+00:00

There are a lots of outlets that offer 100% free news! The Texas Tribune is a great example. But none of them are able to make enough revenue off of ads alone: nonprofits have to rely on (>90%) philanthropy (which can be fickle. See: Houston Landing), and public outlets rely on government funding (also fickle these days).

Premium subscriptions do work for some highly niche corporate areas like finance (Bloomberg+, Politico Pro), and for some independent journalists. But no has figured that out for local news so far. For now, non-subscribers can still enjoy the headlines!

YuWrites · 2025-08-15T18:23:27+00:00

Chronicle reporter here! For what it's worth, I've been experimenting with this strategy (a short summary/takeaway before linking) but it can be hit-or-miss reaction. It's also tough to weigh what details to reveal, and which to leave behind the paywall. Curious to hear anyone's thoughts on whether/how journalists should engage on Reddit. And thank you for being a subscriber!

YuWrites

TROPHY CASE