Texas Politics & News
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- Opinion
How Texas Can Lead the Charge on Education Choice
The debate around school choice has shifted from whether states should enact education choice to how best to accomplish that goal. In a special report released on Monday—co-published by The Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation—we discuss how this question will be especially important in Texas, which is considering adopting education savings accounts,…Jason Bedrick -
- News
In Texas, Republicans Fight New Sanctuary Cities in Wake of Trump Victory
In the border state of Texas, the Republican governor and state Legislature are promising to combat a new trend since the election of Donald Trump, in which cities and localities vow to limit how much they assist federal authorities with removing immigrants living illegally in their communities. Sally Hernandez, the Democratic sheriff-elect in Travis County,…Josh Siegel -
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Texas Judge’s Ruling Undermines Obama Administration’s Transgender Bathroom Policy
Restrooms, locker rooms, and showers in public schools nationwide are allowed to remain separated by biological sex for the foreseeable future, a federal judge in Texas has ruled. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor blocked President Barack Obama’s administration’s bathroom mandate on Sunday evening, hours before students in the state woke up for their first day…Kelsey Bolar -
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Texas Judge Victorious Over Atheist Group in Prayer Dispute
Judge Wayne Mack, a justice of the peace in Montgomery County, Texas, recalls several people telling him they were initially worried about coming before his court, but after the chaplain’s prayer opened the proceedings, they felt better. “It was clear it would be a solemn event and they knew I would be fair,” Mack told…Fred Lucas -
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University of Texas Professors Sue Over Concealed Guns Allowed in Their Classrooms
Three professors are fighting a Texas law that allows students to carry concealed handguns in their college classrooms. Senate Bill 11, allowing concealed handgun license holders 21 and older (or 18 if active military) to carry in campus buildings, was signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, in June 2015. The law went into…Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
Texas Gets the Best Deal It Could With DOJ on Voter ID for the Election
It looks as if Texas, the Justice Department, and all of the other parties, including the NAACP, involved in the challenge to the state’s voter ID law have worked out an interim settlement—and the district court judge approved the deal today after a telephonic hearing Wednesday morning. That deal is probably about the best deal…Hans von Spakovsky -
- News
Parents Beat Back Obama’s Transgender Bathroom Mandate in Texas Schools
Administrators of a Texas school district changed guidelines for transgender students to involve parents and work with families on a case-by-case basis, after an uproar among parents. The Fort Worth Independent School District announced the two new pages of guidelines dated July 19 after parents and others had a chance to speak at school board…Leah Jessen -
- News
Texas AG Explains 11 States’ Lawsuit Over Obama’s School Bathroom Policy
On May 25, officials in 11 states filed a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration’s transgender bathroom directive issued to public schools nationwide. Leading that charge is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who sat down with The Daily Signal to explain his case. Watch the interview to hear about the legal strategy Paxton intends to…Kelsey Bolar -
- News
Texas Sues Obama Administration Over Transgender Bathroom Directive
Texas, joined by eight other states and officials from two other states, sued President Barack Obama’s administration on Wednesday over the president’s national school bathroom directive that threatens to take away federal school funding for districts that do not follow new transgender student guidance. “This is an overreach of the federal government,” Harrold Independent School…Leah Jessen -
- News
3 Things Texas Is Doing to ‘Defy’ Obama’s Transgender Directive
The Obama administration’s directive that public schools give transgender students access to the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice will not stand in Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said. “We are going to look at every pathway to resist the federal government,” Patrick, a Republican, said in a Wednesday interview with The Daily Signal….Leah Jessen -
- News
Texas School District Adopts Transgender Guidelines Without Parental Approval
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has called for school superintendent Kent Scribner’s resignation after Scribner adopted new transgender student guidelines for his district, without the input of parents, school board members, and others in the community. “The district did not seek any public comment or input from parents or the public,” Fort Worth resident Julia…Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
Texas Can’t Afford to Miss Out on School Choice
Last week I had the good fortune to be in Texas discussing conservative policy solutions with hundreds of dedicated men and women in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston. One of the big topics of conversation was freedom in education: How can we offer young Americans the best education possible, while ensuring that each family can…Jim DeMint -
- News
Texas Governor Predicts Supreme Court ‘Politics’ Will Prevent States’ Outright Win on Obama Immigration Actions
The governor of the state leading the legal fight against President Barack Obama’s executive actions protecting illegal immigrants from deportation predicted today that “the best we can hope for” is a deadlocked decision by the Supreme Court. That’s the difference the vacancy on the court left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia makes, Texas…Josh Siegel -
- News
How These Texas Muslims Help Lead the Fight Against Terror
HOUSTON—Like most millennials, the 25-year-old Muslim man giving the evening sermon at the Madrasah Islamiah mosque in Houston is obsessed with getting the word out. Each sermon delivered by Mufti Mohammed Wasim Khan represents a different verse of the Quran, so the audience can look forward to something new. As the mosque fills up for…Josh Siegel -
- Opinion
There’s a Lot at Stake With Texas Abortion Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt on March 2. This is the most important case regarding abortion to be argued before the Supreme Court in almost a decade. Nationally, an estimated “26,500 women experienced complications and approximately 3,180 required hospitalization in 2011” for first-trimester abortions alone. In…Arina O. Grossu -
- Opinion
Texas Abortion Case Is Women’s Health ‘No-Brainer’
There have been many over-the-top liberal reactions to the 2013 Texas law known as House Bill 2. Some have even gone so far as to call it a “a calamity for all women.” But this legislation is anything but. It actually protects the health and safety of women through requiring abortion facilities to meet the…Kerri Kupec -
- News
Texas Grand Jury Indicts 2 Undercover Filmmakers Who Exposed Planned Parenthood
A grand jury in Houston indicted two undercover filmmakers who exposed Planned Parenthood’s alleged sale of aborted baby body parts in a series of videos last summer. The news came late Monday in an investigation requested by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick after the videos surfaced. BREAKING: Harris County grand jury clears Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast…Rob Bluey -
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Why Uber May Leave This Texas City
Waving off pleas from the Austin chief of police and Travis County sheriff, the Austin City Council voted 9-2 on Friday morning to require drivers for ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft be fingerprinted beginning Feb. 1. Unless something changes between now and then, Uber, which has stood firm in opposing fingerprint requirements, will leave…Mark Lisheron -
- News
How Texas Became America’s No. 1 Speed-Trap State
Texas is infested with more speed traps than any other state, according to a new study by the National Motorists Association. The NMA compiled five years’ worth of data from a website it maintains, The National Speed Trap Exchange, and found Texas had far and away the highest speed trap count, with 1,383 locations. The…Jon Cassidy -
- News
Texas Inspector General Says Whistleblower Prompted Planned Parenthood Probe
Stuart Bowen, the inspector general of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, told The Dallas Morning News that a whistleblower alleging Medicaid fraud at Texas Planned Parenthood clinics spurred the agency’s investigation. The Daily Signal previously reported that inspectors from the Texas Office of the Inspector General recently served subpoenas for clinic records at several Planned…Kate Scanlon