Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed the only State Board of Education bill to make it out of the Legislature this session. House Bill 772 by state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, requires video and audio Webcasts of state board meetings. The bill takes effect in September of this year. It’s good that Texas voters will […]
Texas politics
Senators Get 24-Hour Notice on McLeroy Vote
We just got word that Senate Nominations Committee Chairman Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, has given a 24-hour notice on the confirmation of Don McLeroy as Texas State Board of Education chairman. That means we could finally see the long-awaited debate and vote on McLeroy’s controversial appointment Thursday afternoon. So we decided to offer another example of […]
But He Can Manage a Meeting!
Embattled State Board of Education Chairman Don McLeroy has finally found a defender in the Texas Senate. Sort of. In a story on KUT radio this morning, Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, gave something less than a full-throated endorsement of McLeroy’s competence as board chairman: You’re talking about a chairman and a chairman’s ability to manage […]
McLeroy Confirmation Alert: Call Your Senator
Word is that Don McLeroy‘s name is on the list of nominees distributed to state senators in Austin today. That means his confirmation as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education could come up for debate and a vote as early as this afternoon, although it’s more likely tomorrow. We know that far-right groups […]
Why Are GOP Leaders Blocking SBOE Reform?
A renewed effort by Texas legislators to put the State Board of Education under Sunset review fizzled this past weekend under pressure from Senate leaders. It appears that Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, had rounded up enough Democratic and Republican votes to add the requirement to House Bill 1959 (which deals with various other agencies under Sunset […]