Connect with us

Texas

Thousands of Texas teachers to get pay raises under record-breaking school funding bill

Published

on

Thousands of Texas teachers to get pay raises under record-breaking school funding bill


Thousands of teachers across North Texas could soon see a significant boost in their paychecks, thanks to a record-breaking school funding bill that’s now headed to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk.

House Bill 2, an $8.5 billion funding plan, cleared its final legislative hurdle on Thursday. Governor Abbott has promised to quickly sign the bill, which aims to address teacher shortages and improve retention across Texas. If signed, teachers could start seeing the raises take effect in 2026.

Nearly half of the funding – $4.2 billion – is earmarked for teacher pay. In larger school districts such as Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, and Plano, teachers with at least three years of experience will receive a $2,500 raise. Those with five or more years in the classroom will receive $5,000.

Raises are nearly double for teachers in smaller districts with fewer than 5,000 students.

Advertisement

The bill also includes $500 million in raises for other school staff like librarians, cafeteria workers, and custodians.

The funding package has drawn wide support from education advocates and business leaders alike, who see it as a step toward addressing long-standing concerns over school resources and student outcomes.

“It’s not just how much money are we going to give our schools that is a critical question to ask, but it is just as much how are we going to invest those funds and how are we going to measure that return on that investment,” said Kate Greer, a consultant with Commit Partnership, during a summit in April.

“Under-education of our young adults represents significant limitations on our business community,” added Jarrad Toussant with the Dallas Regional Chamber.

However, House Bill 2 didn’t pass without fierce negotiations. It was approved alongside the controversial school choice measure that allows taxpayer money to fund private school education through education savings accounts. Governor Abbott has already signed that legislation into law.

Advertisement
  • In addition to teacher raises, House Bill 2 also provides:
  • $430 million for school security improvements
  • $850 million for special education services
  • $677 million for early learning programs
  • A new $1.3 billion allotment for fixed district costs like insurance, utilities, and transportation

Governor Abbott has until June 22 to sign House Bill 2 and other legislation passed during this session.



Source link

Texas

Texas sues Netflix for allegedly spying on kids, addicting users

Published

on

Texas sues Netflix for allegedly spying on kids, addicting users


Netflix was sued Monday (May 11) by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused the streaming company of spying on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent, and designing its platform to be addictive. Ram Nabong reports.



Source link

Continue Reading

Texas

Texas sues Netflix, alleges platform spied on kids and collected data

Published

on

Texas sues Netflix, alleges platform spied on kids and collected data


The state of Texas announced a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix on Monday, accusing the company of spying on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent and designing the platform to be addictive.

Texas claims that Netflix has falsely represented to consumers that it didn’t collect or share user data while it actually tracked and sold viewers’ habits and preferences to commercial data brokers and advertising technology companies.

Advertisement

The lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claims that “Netflix’s endgame is simple and lucrative: get children and families glued to the screen, harvest their data while they are stuck there, and then monetize the data for a handsome profit.”

The state of Texas announced a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix on Monday. (Nikos Pekiaridis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“When you watch Netflix, Netflix watched you,” Texas added in the lawsuit.

NETFLIX CO-FOUNDER REED HASTINGS TO STEP DOWN, DEPARTURE IS ‘SPOOKING INVESTORS’

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
NFLX NETFLIX INC. 85.39 -2.10 -2.40%

The complaint quotes comments made by former CEO Reed Hastings who said in 2020, while he was still leading the streaming company, that “we don’t collect anything,” amid questions over Big Tech companies’ data collection practices.

Advertisement

Netflix was also accused of quietly using “dark patterns” to keep users watching on its platform, such as an autoplay feature that starts a new show after a different show ends.

NETFLIX RAISES SUBSCRIPTION PRICES ACROSS ALL PLANS

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)

Paxton said in a press release that Netflix “has built a surveillance program designed to illegally collect and profit from Texans’ personal data without their consent, and my office will do everything in our power to stop it.”

The attorney general said he’s charging Netflix under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act and seeks to require Netflix to stop the unlawful collection and disclosure of user data, require Netflix to disable autoplay by default on kid’s profiles, and to secure injunctive relief and civil penalties.

Advertisement

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

FOX Business reached out to Netflix for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Texas

6 people found dead inside a boxcar in Texas, officials say | CNN

Published

on

6 people found dead inside a boxcar in Texas, officials say | CNN


Six people were found dead inside a cargo train boxcar in a Texas city along the southern border on Sunday, officials said.

The bodies were found in a Union Pacific train at a rail yard in Laredo, around 160 miles south of San Antonio, just after 3:30 p.m. local time, said Jose Espinoza, a public information officer with the Laredo Police Department.

The circumstances of their deaths are unknown, said Laredo police spokesperson Joe Baeza, according to CNN affiliate KGNS, and an investigation is underway.

Union Pacific operates across the border and is the only railroad that services all access points into Mexico, according to the freight company’s website.

Advertisement

Temperatures on Sunday afternoon in Laredo were in the low-mid 90s, though it’s unclear whether heat was a factor.

Union Pacific said it was saddened by the incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate.

Laredo police said they received a call around 3 p.m. from an employee at the Union Pacific rail yard, KGNS reported. The bodies were discovered during a routine rail car inspection, police said. No survivors were found.

CNN has reached out to Laredo police for more information.

“It’s a very early phase of the investigation. There’s not a lot to reveal right now,” Baeza said, KGNS reported.

Advertisement

The immigration status and ages of the deceased are not yet known, Espinoza said.

US Customs and Border Protection referred CNN to the Laredo Police Department, saying “The incident remains under investigation by Laredo Police Department and Homeland Security Investigation and Texas Rangers.”

CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, HSI and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“It’s a very unfortunate event,” Espinoza told CNN. “It was too many lives that were lost.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending