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House bill proposes new standardized test
A Texas House bill would eliminate the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness test and replace it with a test comparing students’ performance to one another rather than state-set standards, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
House Bill 4 would also create benchmark tests to measure students’ academic performance throughout the year.
Superintendents from across the state testified in support of HB4 at a committee hearing last week. The bill was unanimously approved in committee and sent to the House floor.
The bill’s sponsor is state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado. He said testing would require a quick turnaround to give parents and teachers faster feedback about student performance.
“I want that experience and the ability for their teachers to deliver that information back to moms and dads so that we can get that type of support, because the teachers can't do it alone,' Buckley said.
The existing STAAR test has become a flashpoint for many school districts, prompting numerous lawsuits and complaints that the existing system overpenalizes districts with less than optimal test scores.
ANTISEMITISM BILL EASILY CLEARS HOUSE
A bill overwhelmingly passed by the House would require school districts to use a common but controversial definition of antisemitism, according to The Texas Tribune. Only two legislators opposed the measure.
The legislation came in response to pro-Palestinian protests held on Texas college campuses after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, and that country’s subsequent – and ongoing – military response. State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, RSouthlake, guided the bill, which has already passed the Senate, through the lower chamber. He assured his colleagues it would not lead to students being punished for constitutionally-protected speech.
“Students are not going to be punished for voicing their views on Middle East policy or debating the history of Zionism. That is well within their rights,” the Southlake Republican said. State Rep. Christian Manuel, D-Port Arthur, was one of two who voted against the bill.
“I just think it goes too broad, and I hate to say this, I think it’s too un-American,” Manuel said.
HOUSE PASSES BILL BANNING MINORS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
The House easily approved a measure that would penalize social media companies for allowing under-aged youth to use their platforms, The News reported. The bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration, would require tech companies to verify a user’s age when creating a social media account.
“Social media companies don’t care about what content they’re feeding you and your children,” sponsor Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, said. “Rather, they want you hooked on their content.”
Users would have to submit government IDs to verify ages, according to the proposal.
CLARIFYING ABORTION BILL UNANIMOUSLY PASSES SENATE
A bill that would allow doctors to intervene and provide abortions to pregnant women in medical emergencies has unanimously cleared the Senate, The News reported.
The existing law includes an exception for patients with a “life-threatening physical condition” but requires the doctor performing the procedure to provide “the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive.” It has created widespread confusion among medical providers.
However, the bill appears to face an uphill hurdle in the House. A similar bill was filed by state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, but has not received a vote in committee.
VOTERS LIKELY TO DECIDE FATE OF WATER BILL MEASURE
Voters likely will be asked to approve spending $1 billion annually to address the state’s water shortage, The Tribune reported. A Senate version is more prescriptive than the House in how that money would be spent, and the two measures will have to be reconciled before it goes to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.
According to Texas 2036, the state needs to invest at least $154 billion over the next half-century on water supply projects and upgrades to existing infrastructure. Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network, was pleased by the bipartisan support for the bill.
“We’re optimistic that a reasonable and balanced funding approach will prevail,” Fowler said. “One that empowers the Texas Water Development Board to support the full range of vital programs eligible.”
MEASLES OUTBREAK RISES TO 683
The measles outbreak in Texas has risen to 683 cases, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Nearly 400 of those cases have been in Gaines County, on the New Mexico border. A total of 89 patients have been hospitalized, with two fatalities reported.
In nearly all the reported cases, the patient was not vaccinated. The two-dose MMR vaccine is considered to be the most effective prevention tool against measles.
$800K IN DIMES SPILL ON STATE HIGHWAY
Brother, can you spare a dime? How about 8 million of them? That is how many ended up on a Texas highway after an 18-wheeler carrying about $800,000 in freshly minted dimes spilled when the driver rolled his trailer onto its side last week in Wise County, near Alvord High School.
U.S. 81/Highway 287 was shut down for several hours while crews recovered the loose change, using shovels, vacuum cleaners, street sweepers, and their hands.
“I saw a truck flipped over, I was like, ‘What's going on?’” eyewitness Sebastian Vasquez told WFAATV. “I almost came out here with a bucket so I can fill it up with some dimes.”
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: [email protected]
