New w/ Marcela Rodrigues: In 2019, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law protecting free speech on college campuses.

His office didn't respond to questions asking why he also called for college students to be arrested for protesting the war in Gaza
dallasnews.com/news/education…

i cant help but note this is a good reminder to everyone to leak internal memos to reporters all the time

This week, I got to do something that journalists are not always given the opportunity to do after they publish stories: return to the community they spent months reporting at to distribute the story in person. 🧵

I’ve been talking to current and former Klein ISD parents for a while now about overcrowding and a lack of transparency, but the recent arrest of a cosmetology teacher for alleged prostitution of students was a final straw for many. Read here: houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t…

The number of people shot in road rage incidents quadrupled between 2014 and 2023. Two of the three cities with the highest # of incidents are in Texas (Houston & San Antonio) thetrace.org/2024/04/road-r…

NEW: UT Austin changes its message again, now says students arrested during protests will not have their access to campus restricted at all.

They could face bans to campus at a later date -- once finals are over.

Here's our updated story: kut.org/education/2024…

No mention in the below tweet from UT Austin about why news reports would be “suggesting” that students’ access to campus may have changed if they were arrested.

A UT spokesperson said students charged with trespassing would not be allowed back on campus, KUT Austin writes.

Critical damage

HISD Central Office employees could see layoffs, role changes in the coming weeks trib.al/QofTB38

When the wave of protests related to the Israel-Hamas war washed over Texas universities this week, most schools didn’t see much of a stir.

The only protest that drew mass arrests? The one at UT Austin.

texastribune.org/2024/04/26/ut-…

As student activists face crackdowns across the country, I talked to protestors at University of Houston and Rice University about how they’ve largely avoided university ire.

To get around protest policy, Rice students labeled their encampment an art installation.
chron.com/politics/artic…

I deleted a tweet saying UT Austin would not let students arrested during protests return to campus.

A spokesperson had confirmed that to KUT Austin, but has since said students and staff can come back for 'academic reasons.'

We have updated the story here: kut.org/education/2024…

A university spokesperson has now clarified that students who were arrested will be allowed on campus for 'academic reasons'.

I'm told the university will be communicating this directly to students, but the student I talked to an hour ago has not received any communication.

More than 200 faculty say they’ve lost confidence in UT Austin President Jay Hartzell.

l8r.it/Z1Xl

Someone needs to get all the Megans, Meagans, and Meghans, in a room and finally figure this mess out.

Texas lawmakers passed a plan demanding a solution that warns schools and other child welfare agencies of state workers fired or reprimanded for misconduct.

But they did not provide enough funding to complete it, KXAN News reports. kxan.com/investigations…

New from ⁦Skye Seipp⁩: The Travis County Attorney’s Office dropped charges against all 57 pro-Palestine protesters arrested earlier this week at ⁦UT Austin⁩, citing lack of probable cause. Austin Statesman⁩ statesman.com/story/news/loc…

Getting hyped for Maybe: Dominic Anthony Walsh's re-telling of Houston ISD's first yr under state-appointed Supt Mike Miles.

Surreal to hear what has essentially been the focus of my work life for the past yr encapsulated in 3 mins of audio.

Listen to the trailer and you'll be hyped too

Note this photographer was only charged with criminal trespass, not with “assaulting an officer”