POLITICS
‘More stressed, more unsure’: Texas educators start school year under new DEI ban
DALLAS | dei | DFW | DFW Lead Story | DFW TEXED EXCLUSIVE | diversity | EDUCATION | educators | equity | inclusion | SAN ANTONIO | state legislature | TEXAS
Trump wants to dismantle the Education Department. That could hurt students with disabilities in Texas.
| April 8, 2025
censorship | CHILDCARE | CIVIL RIGHTS | DALLAS | diversity | Donald Trump | EDUCATION | education department | EQUALITY | equity | EXTREMISM | funding | HIGHER EDUCATION | inclusion | lawmakers | laws | national politics | old texas | politcal | political | politics | public education | schools | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS POLITICS | trump
In a state with a checkered history with federal special education law, advocates say Texas students will see an erosion of their disability rights protections. As the Trump administration pushes to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, advocates for students with disabilities worry that, without federal oversight, Texas will fail to provide adequate special education services to the children who need them.
Is your Dallas neighborhood a heat island?
| April 8, 2025
Dallas officials hope a 2024 climate study can help create strategies to combat heat islands — a phenomenon that has left some neighborhoods in the city up to 12 degrees warmer than other areas during the summer months.
Texas Republicans take aim at public transit in two major cities
| April 7, 2025
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT | CIVIL RIGHTS | DALLAS | DFW | FORT WORTH | funding | INFRASTRUCTURE | lawmakers | politcal | political | politics | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS ECONOMY | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | TEXAS POLITICS | TRANSPORTATION
The Texas Legislature is considering bills that transit officials warn could hamper public transportation in the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth regions.
VIDEO: ‘Fire who? Elon Musk’ — Thousands of people rally at Texas Capitol
| April 5, 2025
Thousands of people crowded the south lawn of the Texas Capitol on Saturday to rally against President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
Second chance charter: This Texas educator is fighting for high school dropouts
| April 4, 2025
Once a teenager drops out of high school, stigmas often follow. The world has become a more and more unforgiving place for young people, and on top of the unique challenges today’s teens face, financial crises at home and in the public school system leave struggling youth without much support. Fortunately, there’s a North Texas […]
Texas Senate approves ban on DEI, LGBTQ+ clubs in public schools
| April 4, 2025
dei | DFW | diversity | EDUCATION | equity | greg abbott | inclusion | public schools | TEXAS | Texas Lead Story | trump
The Senate approved SB 12 in a 20-11 party-line vote on March 19. It’s now headed to the Texas House for consideration. The bill bans the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation, creates an avenue for parents to file complaints about violations, and requires districts to create policies for disciplining employees who engage in DEI-related tasks.
Telehealth for pets? It’s the cat’s meow, a Texas lawmaker says.
| April 1, 2025
funding | HEALTH | HEALTHCARE | HEALTHCARE | lawmakers | laws | politcal | political | politics | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | TEXAS POLITICS
Animal health care experts raised concern that telehealth would lead to misdiagnosis and erode what little care already exists in rural Texas.
Texas State Veterans Home named for Tuskegee Airmen opens in Fort Worth
| March 31, 2025
CIVIL RIGHTS | Community | CULTURE | DFW | ECONOMY | EQUALITY | FORT WORTH | funding | History | INFRASTRUCTURE | JOBS | lawmakers | MILITARY | politcal | political | politics | state legislature | Supreme Court | TEXAS | TEXAS POLITICS | VA | VETERANS
A project long championed by the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce to honor the area’s Tuskegee Airmen came to fruition March 22, as Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham hosted the grand opening of the Texas State Veterans Home in Fort Worth that bears their name.
What Trump’s dismantling of the US Education Department means for Texas
| March 27, 2025
DFW | DFW TEXED EXCLUSIVE | EDUCATION | education department | musk | old texas | TEXAS | Texas Lead Story | trump
The Trump administration's plans to close the US Education Department — which provides $3.6 billion to Texas schools — has left public school advocates decrying it as "embarrassing, maddening, and saddening."
Congressman denounces ICE response about prosecutor operating racist X account
| March 27, 2025
CIVIL RIGHTS | DALLAS | Democrats | Donald Trump | EQUALITY | EXTREMISM | IMMIGRATION | lawmakers | laws | national politics | North Texas | politcal | political | politics | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | TEXAS POLITICS | trump
Last month, Congressman Marc Veasey, a North Texas Democrat, sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Deputy Director Kenneth Genalo demanding a swift investigation into James “Jim” Joseph Rodden, an ICE assistant chief counsel who acts as a prosecutor for ICE in immigration court in Dallas.
‘Striking close to home’: Zoning bills tackling Texas affordable housing crisis evoke emotion
| March 25, 2025
Affordability | bills | EQUALITY | funding | HOUSING | INFRASTRUCTURE | lawmakers | laws | national politics | old texas | politcal | political | politics | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS ECONOMY | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | TEXAS POLITICS
As part of a potential slate of solutions to Texas’ housing affordability crisis, state senators recently examined a bill authorizing the use of small auxiliary residences behind a larger main house.
Federal investigators were preparing two Texas housing discrimination cases — until Trump took over
| March 25, 2025
Affordability | CIVIL RIGHTS | Community | Donald Trump | ECONOMY | EQUALITY | funding | HOUSING | INFRASTRUCTURE | lawmakers | laws | national politics | politcal | political | politics | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS ECONOMY | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | TEXAS POLITICS | trump
The government spent years probing allegations that a Dallas HOA created rules to kick poor Black people out and that Texas discriminated against minority residents in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, only to suddenly reverse course under Trump.