Texas
In hearing, Texas Democrats criticize school leaders for being too “nice” about their funding needs
/static.texastribune.org/media/files/e0dd484a1e675a2d7fdcc879fa73b9fa/0913%20Odessa%20School%20Tours%20EH%2092.jpg?ssl=1 "In hearing, Texas Democrats criticize school leaders for being too “nice” about their funding needs")
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A group of Texas superintendents on Tuesday had an opportunity to argue why lawmakers should increase the base amount of state funding their schools receive for each student. But not all of them did so, leading Democrats to criticize the district leaders for not taking a more assertive approach to an issue threatening the stability of public education.
The exchange between school administrators and Democrats came while the House Public Education Committee conducted the first of two public hearings this week over the chamber’s priority school funding legislation. House Bill 2, a sweeping measure authored by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, would increase schools’ base funding, raise merit pay for teachers, enhance state support for educator preparation and overhaul how Texas pays for special education.
The first day of the hearings featured testimony only from guest speakers invited by lawmakers — which included school superintendents, teachers and public education advocates — while the second hearing slated for Thursday will invite the general public to comment on the bill.
One of the key parts of the House proposal that received significant attention Tuesday would raise the base amount of money public schools receive for each student by $220 — a figure that falls significantly short of the roughly $1,000-$1,400 increase public education advocates have called for in recent years.
During an early portion of the 10-hour public hearing, Rep. John Bryant, a Dallas Democrat, asked district officials how much of an increase to schools’ base funding they would need to address their challenges.
“That’s a very hard question,” said Joe Kucera, the superintendent of the Lorena school district who represented the Texas Association of Midsize Schools at the hearing. “Obviously, we’re thankful for anything we get to improve the basic allotment. I don’t know that I have that number off the top of my head. I know that I’m very thankful for Chairman Buckley to give us an increase to the basic allotment.”
One of the reasons Kucera showed up in support of HB 2, he added, was “because the reality is we need an increase to the basic allotment.”
The answer did not satisfy Bryant, who sought to make clear that the hearing provided schools an opportunity to help improve the bill before it leaves the committee. He then directed the question to Marty Crawford, superintendent of the Tyler school district. But the response was similar.
“I think it would be irresponsible of me to give you a number that would satisfy all of those needs, because we also need to make sure we keep the taxpayers in mind on this too and making sure that we’re not penalizing them, because they’re struggling as well,” Crawford, testifying on behalf of the Texas School Alliance, said. “I think the starting point of around $220 is a good starting point. I would love to see an increase to that. If you want to put something to it, double that and see how it goes. But again, y’all are the decision makers on that.”
Kelly Rasti, associate executive director of Governmental Relations for the Texas Association of School Boards, said adjusting the basic allotment for inflation since 2019 would equate to over a $1,300 increase. But Rasti said she would need to see projections on how the bill would affect school district funding before providing a clear answer to Bryant’s question.
“I think it’s definitely higher than $220,” Rasti said. “It’s probably more in the $600 range.”
Rep. Gina Hinjosa, D-Austin, said she appreciated school officials’ “pleasant” approach to their testimony. But if they want to see meaningful increases to public education funding, she added, they will need to voice their concerns in the same ways they have done so privately.
“You can’t let nice get in the way of advocating for what your districts need. If this is enough, then OK, but you can’t expect us to fight if you’re not going to fight for your districts,” Hinojosa said. “When you close schools in your district, when you lay off teachers, you’re going to own that if you’re not going to come here and fight for what you need.”
The House recently introduced its school funding bill as part of a broad education agenda that includes establishing a private school voucher program and reworking the state’s discipline and school accountability standards. Buckley, the Salado Republican who chairs the Public Education Committee, said Tuesday that lawmakers would spend the next two weeks revising the school funding proposal before voting March 18 on whether to send the measure to the full Legislature for consideration.
Lawmakers have not increased the base amount of money schools receive from the state, referred to as the basic allotment, since 2019 despite inflation. The basic allotment offers districts the flexibility to raise salaries for essential employees — like bus drivers, nurses and teachers — and help them combat the rising costs of goods and services that keep their campuses functioning. Districts have said the state’s reluctance to raise the funds flowing into that pot of money has only worsened their struggles, ranging from budget deficits and program cuts to school closures and teacher shortages.
In the buildup to the legislative session in January, public education advocates sounded the alarm on the dire financial circumstances the lack of significant funding increases has caused. Some lawmakers have also publicly spoken about how district leaders have shown up to their offices pleading for more support.
But Republicans have grown reluctant to increase schools’ base dollars. Instead, they are pushing to direct funds toward specific initiatives like classroom safety and teacher salaries. Texas conservatives have long accused districts of spending too much money on administrators at the expense of instructor pay and student outcomes.
“I think if we had a simple investment in the basic allotment, we sort of skip over two of the most important things we could do, which is to make sure that we keep the best teachers in the classroom, that we incentivize them to stay there,” Buckley said at Tuesday’s hearing. “We pay them as the professionals that they are, but then we also provide the first ever real state investment in educator prep, so we are preparing teachers that are better prepared in the classroom.”
Many of the invited speakers expressed support for the school funding proposal, though they said they saw the bill as a starting point. Both the House and Senate are expected to continue building out their own versions of the legislation in the coming weeks.
Democrats repeatedly asked school leaders at the hearing whether the proposed legislation would provide enough funding to account for inflation since 2019.
“Heck no,” said Greg Gilbert, superintendent of the Santo school district. “But grateful for help.”
That assertiveness was absent in the leaders’ responses to follow-up questions about base funding, which appeared to frustrate several Democrats and at least one Republican.
“If you’re asked a question, don’t sugar-coat it,” said Rep. Charles Cunningham, R-Humble. “Give us an answer, because I can tell you my district … already gave me an answer.”
Gilbert, who showed up on behalf of the Texas Association of Rural Schools, questioned whether a $1,300 basic allotment increase — which he estimated would equate to an $11 billion price tag for the state — was a reasonable ask.
The question concerned Bryant, the Dallas Democrat.
“Yes, $11 billion, I’m ready to put that into public education right now,” Bryant said. “I would suggest that anyone who is going to come up here as a representative of school districts and raise that question, as though that’s too much, maybe somebody else ought to be testifying for the school districts in your organization.”
Disclosure: Texas Association of School Boards and Texas School Alliance have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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Texas lawmakers are lighting up social media with opinions about the fatal shooting of a woman in a car in Minneapolis by an ICE officer on Wednesday morning.
Reports from officers differ drastically from those of uninvolved eyewitnesses — the official DHS stance is self-defense against a “domestic terrorist,” while bystanders tell a story of an innocent woman trying to leave peacefully.
The political internet arena Texas is divided along party lines. Republicans generally condemn Minnesota leaders’ reactions to the shooting, while Democrats are calling for ICE to be investigated for the possible murder of a civilian by an anonymous officer.
Texas Republicans react
Among the most vocal of the Texas GOP members after Wednesday’s shooting, U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston) was quick to question Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s dismay at the incident. Hunt posted the following to X, formerly Twitter:
“We’ve hit a breaking point in this country when an ICE officer is rammed by a lunatic in an SUV and the Mayor of Minneapolis responds not with condemnation, but by telling federal law enforcement to “get the f*ck out!”
UNITED STATES – JANUARY 22: Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Hunt, currently in the running for U.S. Senate, later reposted a Fox News video of Gov. Tim Walz’ reaction. Hunt compared Walz to Jefferson Davis before posting a full statement later in the evening that reads, in part, as follows:
“The radical left isn’t turning the temperature down, they’re cranking it to 450 degrees. When leaders normalize this kind of rhetoric, the outcome isn’t hypothetical. It’s dangerous. It’s reckless. And it puts lives at risk. If violence follows, responsibility doesn’t belong to the officers enforcing the law, it belongs to the politicians who lit the fuse.”
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was more to the point with his criticism of Minnesota leaders, reposting a different video of Walz and referencing the recent fraud scandal within the state.
Walz in the video said Minnesota is “at war with the federal government.” Cruz replied, “Is that why y’all stole $9 billion?”
Texas Democrats react
The other side:
State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin), another candidate for the same U.S. Senate seat as Hunt, rang in from the other side of the aisle.
“At our town hall last night, I called for a full investigation into ICE,” Talarico said in his post on X. “Today, an ICE agent shot and killed a civilian. We should haul these masked men before Congress so the world can see their faces.”
State Representative James Talarico, a Democrat from Texas and US Senate candidate, during a campaign event in Houston, Texas, US, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. Talarico is jumping into the Democratic primary for US Senate in Texas, taking on a former
Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, yet another Senate hopeful, also expressed his ire for the actions in Minneapolis.
“As a civil rights attorney, I’m outraged by today’s ICE shooting in Minnesota that took a woman’s life,” Allred said on X. “No family should lose a loved one this way. No community should live in this fear. ICE has become a rogue agency — operating recklessly, terrorizing communities, and now taking lives. To every community terrorized by these tactics: I see you. I stand with you. And I won’t stop fighting until you’re safe.”
Minneapolis fatal ICE shooting
The backstory:
An ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning.
Federal officials are claiming the agent acted in self-defense, but Minnesota leaders disagree. The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. in the area of East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. The woman died at the hospital.
Witnesses told FOX Local that a woman got into a red vehicle and there was one ICE agent on either side of the vehicle trying to get in, and a third ICE agent came and tried to yank on the driver’s side door. One of the agents on the driver’s side door backed away, and then opened fire, shooting three times through the driver’s side window, witnesses said. One witness said the vehicle wasn’t moving toward the agents. However, federal officials said ICE officers were “conducting targeted operations” when “rioters” blocked officers. One of the “rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”
Officials said an ICE officer who was “fearing for his life” fired “defensive shots” to save himself and his officers, killing the woman.
A video of the shooting shows a red Honda Pilot blocking the roadway as an ICE squad approaches. When agents approach the vehicle, the Pilot attempts to drive away, moving towards an agent. When that happens, the agent fires three shots at the driver. Police say the driver was struck in the head. The agent appears to mostly avoid the vehicle as it speeds past and ends up crashing into a parked vehicle.
The Source: Information in this report comes from public statements made by Texas lawmakers on social media. Background comes from FOX 9 coverage in Minneapolis.
What we know about the return of cancel culture
People sharing critical posts online about Charlie Kirk have faced suspension at work. This is what we know now about cancel culture.
A Texas teachers union has sued the state over what it said was a trampling of educators’ free speech rights when hundreds came under investigation for their comments after the killing of Charlie Kirk.
The Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers filed the federal lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency and its commissioner Mike Morath on Jan. 6, the union said. The suit claims investigations into at least 350 teachers after Kirk’s death were “unlawful” and that a letter issued by Morath to superintendents around the state targeting “reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media” prompted punishment and retaliation against teachers.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The cofounder of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth-focused organization, Kirk was a close ally of President Donald Trump. Shooting suspect Tyler Robinson has been charged with his murder.
After Kirk’s death, a wave of backlash came in response to online posts condemning his views or otherwise criticizing him. Right-leaning public figures and prominent social media accounts called for firings of people whose posts they deemed inappropriate.
Morath’s letter on Sept. 12 directed superintendents to report “inappropriate conduct being shared” to the Texas Education Agency’s Educator Investigations Division, which investigates teachers for allegations of misconduct, the Texas AFT said in its suit, which was reviewed by USA TODAY. The union said teachers were investigated not for speech made in classrooms, but for posts made on their personal, often private social media pages.
“In the months since, the consequences for our members have run the gamut from written reprimands and administrative leave to doxxing and termination from their jobs,” AFT Vice President and Texas Chapter President Zeph Capo said at a news conference.
The Texas Education Agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Jan. 7.
Lawsuit claims teachers were disciplined for exercising free speech
The lawsuit filed by the Texas AFT claims that teachers in public schools have a constitutionally protected right to free speech, and that their speech in their personal capacity, such as on social media, is protected. The suit claims that teachers’ rights were violated when they were investigated or faced disciplinary action for their posts about Kirk. It also alleges that the policy to report teachers for “inappropriate” content was unfairly vague.
“These teachers were disciplined solely for their speech, without any regard to whether the posts disrupted school operations in any way,” the lawsuit reads.
Teachers whose cases are mentioned in the lawsuit were kept anonymous, Capo said, to protect them from further harassment. Many teachers are fearful to express any more opinions, effectively silencing their speech, he said.
One of the teachers, who made a post described in the lawsuit as one that “simply raised questions about the circumstances of Mr. Kirk’s death and did not promote violence in any way,” was shared by a lawmaker who used it as part of an election campaign and called for the teacher’s dismissal. The high school English teacher, who has taught for 27 years, was placed on administrative leave and later fired. She settled a wrongful termination claim with the school district, the lawsuit said.
Another teacher of 16 years and a military veteran who previously won “Teacher of the Year” in his school district and made posts criticizing Kirk for his views on Black Americans is under an ongoing investigation by the state agency, the lawsuit said.
“We denounced Charlie Kirk’s assassination, we denounced violence after Uvalde. We denounce violence,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “What happened in the next few days (after Kirk’s killing), wasn’t about violence or denouncing violence, it was about muzzling the expression of constitutionally protected nonviolent speech.”
Dozens lost jobs over posts about Kirk
In the wake of Kirk’s death in September, USA TODAY counted dozens of examples of people who lost their jobs, were suspended or investigated over posts or comments they made about the conservative podcaster, including educators, lawyers, doctors, first responders and others.
They include a dean at Middle Tennessee State, Laura Sosh-Lightsy, who was fired for a social media post saying she had “zero sympathy” for Kirk; a Marine who called Kirk a “racist man” who was “popped”; and Jimmy Kimmel, whose ABC show was temporarily suspended after he made comments about Kirk.
Some educators who lost their jobs filed lawsuits alleging their free speech rights were violated. A teacher in Iowa who compared Kirk to a Nazi; a South Carolina teacher’s assistant who posted a Kirk quote and said she disagreed with him but called the death a “tragedy”; and an employee of an Indiana university who said Kirk’s death was wrong and condemned some of his beliefs all filed suits on free speech, according to reporting from the USA TODAY Network. Each case kicked up a flurry of social media outrage and calls for the educators’ firings.
In Tennessee, a tenured theater professor at Austin Peay State University was reinstated after originally being fired for comments he made online after Kirk’s killing, the Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, recently reported.
Texas
Horror of school attack in Uvalde, Texas, brings tears as officer faces trial over police response – WTOP News
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Families whose loved ones died in the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school massacre sobbed in court…
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Families whose loved ones died in the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school massacre sobbed in court while listening to frantic 911 calls during the first day of testimony in the trial of a police officer accused of failing to protect the children by not doing enough to stop the attack.
A prosecutor told jurors Tuesday that former school officer Adrian Gonzales arrived outside the school just before the teenage gunman went inside but didn’t make a move to stop him even when a teacher pointed to where he was firing in a parking lot.
The officer went into Robb Elementary only “after the damage had been done,” special prosecutor Bill Turner said during opening statements.
The judge overseeing the case and attorneys warned jurors that the testimony and images will be emotional and difficult to process. Among those expected to testify will be some of the victims’ families.
Tissue boxes were brought to the families as the testimony began. Some shook their heads as they listened to audio from the first calls for help. Their cries grew louder as the horror unfolded on the recordings.
Defense attorneys disputed that Gonzales — one of two officers charged in the 2022 attack — did nothing, saying he radioed for more help and evacuated children as other police arrived.
“The government makes it want to seem like he just sat there,” said defense attorney Nico LaHood. “He did what he could, with what he knew at the time.”
Prosecutors focused sharply on Gonzales’ steps in the minutes after the shooting began and as the first officers arrived. They did not address the hundreds of other local, state and federal officers who arrived and waited more than an hour to confront the gunman, who was eventually killed by a tactical team of officers.
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to child abandonment or endangerment and could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison if convicted.
Witness testimony will resume Thursday morning.
Students grabbed scissors to confront attacker
Defense attorneys said Tuesday that Gonzales was focused on assessing where the gunman was while also thinking he was being fired on without protection against a high-powered rifle.
“This isn’t a man waiting around. This isn’t a man failing to act,” defense attorney Jason Goss said.
Gonzales and former Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo are the only two officers to face criminal charges over the response. Arredondo’s trial has not been scheduled.
Gonzales, a 10-year veteran of the police force, had extensive active shooter training, the special prosecutor said.
“When a child calls 911, we have a right to expect a response,” Turner said, his voice trembling with emotion.
As Gonzales waited outside, children and teachers hid inside darkened classrooms and grabbed scissors “to confront a gunman,” Turner said. “They did as they had been trained.”
Families question why more officers weren’t charged
It’s rare for an officer to be criminally charged with not doing more to save lives.
“He could have stopped him, but he didn’t want to be the target,” said Velma Lisa Duran, sister of teacher Irma Garcia, who was among the 19 students and two teachers who were killed.
Some families of the victims have voiced anger that more officers were not charged given that nearly 400 federal, state and local officers converged on the school soon after the attack.
An investigation found 77 minutes passed from the time authorities arrived until they breached the classroom and killed Salvador Ramos, who was obsessed with violence and notoriety leading up to the shooting.
Reviews found many failures with police response
State and federal reviews of the shooting cited cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned why officers waited so long.
The officer’s attorneys told jurors that there was plenty of blame to go around — from the lack of security at the school to police policy — and that prosecutors will try to play on their emotions by showing photos from the scene.
“What the prosecution wants you to do is get mad at Adrian. They are going to try to play on your emotions,” Goss said.
“The monster who hurt these children is dead,” he said.
Prosecutors likely will face a high bar to win a conviction. A Florida sheriff’s deputy was acquitted by a jury after being charged with failing to confront the shooter in the Parkland, Florida, school massacre in 2018 — the first such prosecution in the U.S. for an on-campus shooting.
___
Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press journalists Nicholas Ingram in Corpus Christi, Texas; Juan A. Lozano in Houston; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
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