education

Texas Standard: April 26, 2022

Election season and property tax valuation season coincide in Texas as two constitutional amendments come up for a vote. As many Texas property owners see historic increases in their tax valuations, a pair of constitutional amendments come up that could provide some relief, but how much? And will it make a difference? Two reporters from the Texas Newsroom offer a primmer. Also, from five to just four days of school each week? Long a dream for many a student, many Texas school administrators are making the shift. We’ll hear why. And Texas-based presidential scholar Mark Updegrove reconsiders the legacy of JFK. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: April 25, 2022

Border bottlenecks brought on by ramped up Texas inspections cost business billions. But a surprising potential longer-term effect, too. A new relationship between Texas and 4 border states in Mexico? Angela Kocherga has that story. Plus a new report reveals San Antonio’s south side, one of the nation’s hardest hit by the pandemic. Also an update on COVID-19 and kids in Texas. And what our neighbors to the east may be able to teach Texas as plans for a coastal Ike Dike get the green light. Also ChicanX utopias. What pop culture tells us about the politics of the possible. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: March 03, 2022

A state judge tells Texas it must stop its investigation of a family suspected of providing gender affirming medical care for their transgender teenager. President Biden’s weighing in on the matter too. Plus, legally mandated efforts to get Texas public school students back up to speed after pandemic disruptions; schools say they simply don’t have the tutors to do it. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: February 9, 2022

As more teachers quit, those who remain are taking on more students and more responsibilities; a survey suggests a new Texas public school crisis in the making. Also, efforts to ban certain books from school libraries and how what’s been happening in Hood County may be a harbinger of what’s ahead. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: February 3, 2022

Winter Storm Landon wreaking havoc across Texas. We’ll be checking in with Dallas, Lubbock, Midland, Austin and more as we track the effects of what has been described as the first big test of the state’s power grid since last year’s winter storm that left millions in the dark. Also Mose Buchele, who’s been tracking the power grid and changes to the power infrastructure since last years deadly storm, brings us the latest on where we stand with blackouts and electricity supply and demand. All that and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: January 19, 2022

Central and southern Texas braces for its first winter storm event of 2022 as emergency teams in Bastrop struggle with a wildfire and evacuations. Plus, a wave of resignations from Texas school superintendents. Also, Texas experts offer a projection of when Omicron may peak in Texas. Join us for all this and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: January 14, 2022

School districts are buckling under the current pressures of the pandemic. The leader of a Texas teacher’s organization asks, where’s the state in all this? Some districts are shutting down others are asking parents to fill in. We want to hear from you about the current challenges for schools. Also, Governor Greg Abbott’s border enforcement program violates the constitution. That was the ruling yesterday. We’ll look at where it goes from here. And Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton must turn over records related to his time in Washington last January 6th. We’ll get into the exceptional details. Plus, going back in time to 1883 and the depiction of a family’s journey west across Texas. Our interview with one of TV’s rising stars. That and more on today’s Texas Standard:

Taking Roll

Schools are, once again, overwhelmed by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. At this current stage, some districts have shut down for days at time, others are asking parents to serve as substitute teachers. All that was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Texas Standard: December 12, 2022

For the first time ever the Red Cross declares a national blood crisis. We’ll look at what that is and what is needed from Texans. Also: masks, social distancing, vaccinations, booster shots, now pills have been added to the COVID-19 fighting arsenal, though many Texans may not have heard about this development or know who’s eligible. We’ll get some answers. Plus Texas’ Rice University among a group of prestigious private institutions of higher learning being sued over financial aid practices. And a new push to compensate Texans unwittingly affected by nuclear testing dating back to the cold war era. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Wilhelmina and Exalton Delco

In the first episode of Black Austin Matters, hosts Lisa B. Thompson and Rich Reddick talk with the Hon. Wilhelmina Delco and Dr. Exalton Delco. Mrs. Delco was the first Black person elected to the Austin ISD board of trustees in 1968 and later became the first Black person elected at-large from Travis County to the Texas House of Representatives, where she served until 1995. Dr. Delco was the first Black person to earn a PhD in zoology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962. He went on to have a long career at Huston-Tillotson University and Austin Community College.

Texas Standard: January 4, 2022

As Texas students return to a post holiday footing some are finding it’s not ‘back to the classroom’ just yet. The latest pandemic spike punching holes in back to school plans. We’ll talk with a panel of education reporters with the latest from across Texas. Also, beef prices skyrocketing, but that money’s not making it back to Texas cattle ranchers. Now the Biden Administration’s stepping in: what Texas rancher’s have to say about the Feds’ new plan. And a new Texas law takes effect trying to put renters on an even footing with homebuyers when it comes to knowing if you live in a floodplain. All those stories and more today on the Texas Standard.

Texas Standard: December 10, 2021

A Supreme Court decision on Texas’ new abortion law- which says more about legal procedure than reproductive rights. Details today on the Texas Standard.

Almost halfway through the school year and chronic shortages of teachers combined with COVID concerns continue to cause trouble in districts statewide, coming up, how this is playing out at a school in Fort Bend.

$800 million to curb the spread of COVID in the classroom- mostly unspent. We’ll hear why.

And the thousands of multimillion dollar mansions in Texas that pay no taxes because of who’s living there. Those stories and much more.

Texas Standard: November 12, 2021

Roads, bridges, electric charging stations… in all some 35 billion dollars earmarked for Texas in the infrastructure bill. So what comes next? San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg joins us. Also, a new law aimed at preventing deaths due to drug overdose has a policy expert warning about the fine print. Plus the week in Texas politics and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: November 10, 2021

Executions in Texas have halted while courts resolve whether Texas prisoners can have a spiritual advisor touch them as they’re being put to death. We’ll have the latest on the arguments in D.C. Plus, what went wrong at AstroWorld? A crowd safety expert gives us his thoughts on avoiding future catastrophes. And a steel house on the staked plains. It could be yours, for the right price. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: October 5, 2021

Two Black members of congress give testimony at the state capitol. At stake: political maps that would break up communities of color. We’ll have the latest on the fight over representation and redistricting in Texas. Also, it started as a petition to force the hiring of more police officers. Now, why a local proposition could have echoes and reverberations statewide. And an estimated 40% of Texas nursing home workers are unvaccinated. How a change in the law may create a shortage of nursing home workers, and the help that facilities are asking for from the state. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: September 14, 2021

We’ll bring you the latest on tropical storm Nicholas. Also, a carefully crafted letter from Bell county officials to their community. We’ll listen to their heart-wrenching message. And sometimes it’s hard to understand what the FCC does, but this time it’s straightforward. It’s setting aside money for people who need better internet access. We’ll also learn about a boot camp. Not the kind where you drop down and give me 50, but a boot camp that gets soldiers ready for college. And Cricket, the sport, is investing big time in North Texas. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: September 13, 2021

Making good on a threat: Texas is suing over school mask mandates. We’ll take a look at what we know about a lawsuit against six Texas school districts. Also tropical storm Nicholas is headed towards the Texas Gulf Coast. We’ll discuss what the state and coastal cities are doing now and the implications as oil production is still offline from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana. And twenty years ago today… a disaster along the South Texas Coast. Remembering the Queen Isabella Causeway Collapse. Plus the Republican Party and Texas are practically synonymous in current politics but things have changed over the decades. A look back today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: September 6, 2021

Texas 2nd special session of the year is over. And a new opinion poll suggests the result is not a necessarily good look for Governor Abbott. If critics were correct that the Governor’s legislative agenda was an effort to win over Texans prior to his reelection campaign, it hasn’t quite worked out as a net positive for him, if a new opinion poll is correct. What’s behind Governor Abbott’s highest ever disapproval numbers? Also, the Pentagon says a Texan was among the last U.S. service members to die in Afghanistan We’ll hear from the widow of another soldier killed in the attack on Kabul airport. Plus a call for a rethink of the American military and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: September 3, 2021

An early end to the special session at the capitol but the work far from over. Next up redrawing the political maps of Texas. As lawmakers gavel out a second special session, where do we stand and what comes next? A closer look with the editor of the quorum report. Also the search for a new permanent home for the battleship Texas as a piece of history battles the ravages of time. And 10 years after the most destructive fire in Texas history. What happened and what’s happened since. Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard: