The Texas comptroller’s office has released a set of rules to govern the state’s $1 billion education savings account program, or ESAs. Accepted families will receive thousands of dollars in state funds to send their children to a private school or homeschool them.  The overview: Accredited private schools and education vendors can begin applying to join the program as soon as Dec. 9, and applications will open for interested families Feb. 4.  Most families accepted into the program will receive about $10,300 per student, which can be spent on tuition at accredited private prekindergarten or K-12 schools and related expenses. Homeschooled students will receive up to $2,000 per year, while students with disabilities will be eligible for up to $30,000 annually. view article

Talarico’s two years as a public school teacher is central to his Democratic Senate campaign after shaping his policy goals and driving his political rise through the Texas House.  Texas’ Senate Republican primary, meanwhile, looks headed for a runoff. The survey found U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in a dead heat against Attorney General Ken Paxton, with neither eclipsing 30%. view article

The majority of the Democratic caucus’ haul came when the party broke quorum over the summer to delay the GOP-controlled Legislature from redrawing the state’s congressional map. With a little help from their quorum break last summer, the Texas House Democratic Caucus raised $2.2 million in 2025, a record-setting year for the minority party in the state’s lower chamber.  The HDC is set to file those figures, shared early with The Blast, at the campaign finance reporting deadline Thursday. Caucus Chair Gene Wu says that will let Democrats “preemptively” plan for the 2027 legislative session. view article

No GOP candidate for the Texas Senate has ever defeated a Patrick-endorsed primary opponent since he became the state’s second-in-command over a decade ago.  Jon Gimble says he has plenty to offer GOP primary voters in his bid for an open Texas Senate seat.  He’s a lifelong Texan and a local public servant, upsetting a Democrat in 2014 when he was elected district clerk in McLennan County. And he says he has political relationships in Austin while also being in touch with residents living in rural areas outside of Waco, who feel some of their biggest problems are neglected at the Capitol.  But the one thing Gimble can’t offer might kneecap his chance of representing the district southwest of Dallas he seeks: an endorsement from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the upper chamber’s kingmaker. view article

We’re a year out from the next legislative session and already, the battle lines are forming around a key issue that’s sure to divide Texas Republicans — how to go about lowering property taxes. Gov. Greg Abbott has shared his proposal, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has thrown his pitch, and we’ll all spend the next year nervously assessing whether their disagreement portends a special session or two in 2027.  To discuss all this, Eleanor and Matthew are joined by John Diamond, director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy at the Baker Institute for Public Policy. view article

pon signing school vouchers into law last May, Governor Greg Abbott pronounced that he had delivered “education freedom to every Texas family.” But the billion-dollar program, which opens to parents on February 4, has enrolled dozens of private schools that openly discriminate against Texas families on the basis of religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity, according to a Texas Observer analysis of information gathered from the schools’ websites and handboos, and survey responses and phone calls with school leaders. The Observer gathered information about all 291 schools selected by the state that offer education beyond the kindergarten level. More than 90 percent are affiliated with or owned by a religious or faith-based group, the analysis found. More than 100 of those schools require or prioritize for admission students of the same faith, and more than 60 have a written policy that discriminates against LGBTQ+ students, the schools’ own data shows. view article

HIDALGO — During a visit to the border Friday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said changes in immigration laws should wait until the border is completely secure, a contrast from Republican lawmakers who are willing to explore legal status for immigrant workers to address labor shortages prompted by enforcement efforts at work sites.  Cornyn was part of a group of Republican U.S. senators and Senate hopefuls who flocked to the Rio Grande Valley to praise President Donald Trump’s border policies as they attempt to promote their achievements and shape political narratives ahead of November’s midterm elections.  Aggressive enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has prompted some unauthorized workers to stay clear of job sites, leading to labor shortages in construction and restaurants. The Valley has been among the areas hardest hit by the worker shortage, prompting a group of local builders to call for solutions to economic struggles in their industry. view article

Seven judicial candidates are under scrutiny for submitting defective candidacy forms. view article

In an about-face, Dallas County Republicans last week decided against hand-counting ballots in Texas’ March primary, saying they weren’t able to line up enough workers, among other hurdles.  That leaves just two counties where Republicans will hand-count their primary ballots: Gillespie County, west of Austin, and Eastland County, southwest of Fort Worth. view article

Texas officials have turned over the state’s voter roll to the U.S. Justice Department, according to a spokesperson for the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, complying with the Trump administration’s demands for access to data on millions of voters across the country.  The Justice Department last fall began asking all 50 states for their voter rolls — massive lists containing significant identifying information on every registered voter in each state — and other election-related data. The Justice Department has said the effort is central to its mission of enforcing election law requiring states to regularly maintain voter lists by searching for and removing ineligible voters. view article

A professor at Texas A&M University was told by the school's philosophy department that he must drop class readings from his syllabus because they violate the school's new policy on "race ideology and gender ideology" in course content.  Philosophy professor Martin Peterson submitted the syllabus for his Contemporary Moral Issues class for the spring 2026 semester to department leadership for review during the school's winter break. The syllabus included readings from Plato's Aristophanes' Myth of the Split Humans, Diotima's Ladder of Love and a textbook titled Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, which were all flagged by the university.

His primary opponent U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, said in a statement that every quarter last year was a record one for her as a fundraiser, but did not say how much she had hauled. view article

On top of dozens of laws taking effect on Jan. 1 and the incoming midterm elections, the new year also comes with developments on numerous policy issues affecting the state. They range from criminal justice to education to international trade, setting up a year that could bring about sweeping changes for Texans.  Here are some important issues to watch in 2026. view article

Andrew White, the son of former Gov. Mark White, announced he is ending his campaign for the Democrat nomination for governor, citing fundraising struggles.  White, who previously ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, said he is stepping aside with State Rep. Gina Hinojosa emerging as the frontrunner in the Democrat primary.  In a video message to supporters, White said the campaign had failed to raise the resources needed to remain competitive. view article

In a new filing, Jane Nelson argues the case is not ripe for judicial review.In a new filing, Jane Nelson argues the case is not ripe for judicial review.Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson is asking a federal judge to dismiss the Republican Party of Texas’ lawsuit seeking to close GOP primaries, arguing the case is premature because the party has not yet adopted a binding closed-primary system. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott has a sweeping plan to abolish Texas’ school property taxes. Would it work?  Gov. Greg Abbott announced his reelection campaign in November, promising to lower property taxes. His plan covers three areas, which The Texas Tribune is breaking down over a series of articles. This is Part One. Read Part Two here.  FORT WORTH — Texas lawmakers have gone big to rein in the state’s property taxes, spending tens of billions of dollars toward reducing the annual bill homeowners and businesses pay each year to help pay for schools. State lawmakers have also put tighter limits on how much local governments can increase taxes to pay for public safety, parks and other services. Ahead of the 2026 election, Gov. Greg Abbott wants to go bigger.  view article

Several court hearings and policies affecting education, health and more will roll out in the new year. view article

The Texas Tribune’s politics team has compiled five of the top stories we're watching this year, when voters will have their first chance to make their opinions known on the events of 2025. view article

The impacts of the latest fight over Texas’ political maps are still reverberating around the state, but there are other debates on the horizon.  Future political representation could hinge on President Donald Trump’s renewed push to exclude at least some noncitizens from the population counts that help determine how political power is distributed in the U.S.  In Texas, where Republicans pushed through a rare midcycle redistricting this year to try to maintain their advantage in Congress after the 2026 midterm elections, experts say that excluding noncitizens when drawing districts could open another way for the GOP to tighten its grip on the state Legislature and congressional delegation. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott wants a tighter lid on home values. Tax policy experts warn that’s a bad idea.  Gov. Greg Abbott wants to put a tighter lid on how fast property values can rise in a bid to deliver property tax relief to homeowners and businesses — but tax policy experts across the political spectrum warn the proposal wouldn’t address the root causes of higher tax bills and would backfire with severe consequences.  A property’s value is a key part of the equation that forms a property owner’s tax bill. That bill is determined by multiplying the property value by the tax rate set by school districts, cities, counties and other taxing jurisdictions.  Texas property owners have seen steep jumps in their appraisals since the start of the decade as the state’s economy boomed, and have complained that those higher property values are driving their tax bills. Homeowners saw persistent jumps in their home values as fierce competition for homes put pressure on Texas’ limited housing stock and drove up prices. Those increases have since cooled, but remain a source of angst for property owners. view article

Texas cities and counties already face limits on how much revenue they can generate. Local leaders have warned that further restrictions would mean fewer services like parks and libraries.  in the past. In a bid to rein in city and county tax bills, lawmakers in 2019 enacted tighter limits on how much more in property taxes cities and counties can collect each year without asking voters. On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Texas Senate, announced his own plans to drive down taxes that focused on increasing tax cuts for homeowners. view article

In a surprise announcement just hours before the candidate filing deadline, Democrat Colin Allred has dropped out of the 2026 U.S. Senate race and will instead run for Congress in Texas’ newly redrawn 33rd Congressional District.  Allred, who previously represented the Dallas-area 32nd District and ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, said in a statement Monday that a competitive Democrat primary would weaken the party’s chances in the General Election.  “In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified,” Allred wrote. “That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the U.S. Senate.”  Instead, Allred is seeking to return to the U.S. House view article

Paxton Sues EPIC City To Halt ‘Illegal Development Scheme’…China Taking ‘New Approach’ To Influence K-12 Education…New Law Lets Texas Pharmacists Dispense Ivermectin Without Prescription…Man Taught School For Two Years While Wanted For Child Sexual Assault… view article

The ruling is a major win for the Trump administration and Texas Republicans, who engineered the map to give the GOP control of 30 of the state’s 38 congressional districts. view article

Senate Bill 8, which takes effect on Thursday, places new restrictions on which restrooms transgender people can use in certain government-owned buildings and schools. view article

U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, the Republican from Richmond, is the latest in a growing number of GOP lawmakers who have announced their departure from Congress at the end of their terms, possibly threatening the party's chances of holding on to control of the U.S. House.   Nehls said he would retire at the end of his current term in 2027, making the announcement a day after the Thanksgiving holiday and just days after U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, announced she would resign in the middle of her term on Jan. 5.  In Texas, several Republican lawmakers also have said they will leave the U.S. House at the end of their terms, with some retiring and at least one seeking a higher office.  view article

Texas’ chief financial officer on Tuesday finalized rules for the state’s private school voucher program, clearing up confusion about funding for pre-kindergarten students and setting official dates for schools and families to apply — but declining to change certain special education components or tack on additional reporting requirements.  Private schools and vendors who currently participate in an existing state initiative for students with disabilities can apply on Dec. 9, while applications for nonparticipants are set to open shortly after.  The state will then allow families to start applying on Feb. 4, the date Texas’ finance chief and Odyssey — the finance and technology company helping administer the program — had agreed upon in their contract. The application window would remain open until mid-March, according to the agreement. The state then aims to provide status updates for approved students in early May.   view article

Dozens of new Texas laws will take effect in December and January, bringing wide-ranging changes to the state’s education system, law enforcement, taxes and more.  Over 800 laws from this year’s regular legislative session already took effect on Sept. 1, but more measures from that period as well as the second special session will soon activate. Some also had to wait for voters’ approval, such as more tax exemption for businesses’ inventory.  Notably, the legislation behind the Texas GOP’s mid-decade push to redraw the congressional map and get five more seats for President Donald Trump is supposed to take effect on Dec. 4.  view article

The Secretary of State’s Office didn’t initially check with the Department of Public Safety, which collects proof of citizenship from people who register to vote through them.  County election officials investigating the eligibility of 2,724 Texas voters flagged as potential noncitizens have so far found that hundreds of the voters registered through the state Department of Public Safety, which requires proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote while obtaining a driver’s license or state ID.  DPS keeps copies of the proof of citizenship that registrants provide, such as birth certificates or passports. The agency also keeps copies of proof of lawful presence in the U.S., such as green cards, provided by immigrants. view article

Texas Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, announced on Monday that he would not seek reelection to a seventh term in the Texas House.  “I am deeply grateful to the great people of HD1 for the trust you have shown in me,” VanDeaver said in his announcement, adding that he would serve out the rest of his term through January 2027. “While much of my work over the past decade has been with a focus on making Texas better, I have always tried to view that work through the lens of ensuring rural Texas, and especially our little corner here in Northeast Texas, is positioned for the brightest future possible.” view article

In the weeks since Kate Rogers was ousted from her role as CEO of the Alamo Trust, Inc., the GOP state leaders who called for her resignation say the half-billion dollar redevelopment plan she was overseeing is moving forward without a hitch.But Rogers isn’t going quietly after passages from her two-year-old doctoral dissertation were held up as evidence her personal politics were “incompatible” with the way state leaders want the eventual museum, visitors center and surrounding plaza to convey the site’s history.  Last week, Rogers sued Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham and members of the Alamo Trust’s board of directors, shedding new light on their efforts to influence such projects and asking that she be reinstated to her role. view article

Senate Bill 8, which takes effect on Thursday, places new restrictions on which restrooms transgender people can use in certain government-owned buildings and schools.  Starting on Thursday, Texas will implement Senate Bill 8 — also known as the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, or more commonly known as a “bathroom bill” — aimed at restricting transgender people’s access to certain restrooms in the state.  upporters of the law say it will create more secure private spaces, but opponents worry the law’s unclear guidance on how to enforce SB 8 will cause oversurveillance and public harassment. Here’s what you need to know about SB 8, what areas are affected and why the Legislature passed the new restrictions on restrooms in the state. view article

Dozens of new Texas laws will take effect in December and January, bringing wide-ranging changes to the state’s education system, law enforcement, taxes and more.  Over 800 laws from this year’s regular legislative session already took effect on Sept. 1, but more measures from that period as well as the second special session will soon activate. Some also had to wait for voters’ approval, such as more tax exemption for businesses’ inventory. view article

The state’s new $3 billion dementia research fund has been blocked temporarily by a trio of voters who claim voting machines used in this month’s election are faulty. The plaintiffs — Shannon Huggins, Lars Kuslich and Jose Silvester — filed the action Nov. 13 in Travis County against the Texas Secretary of State’s office. In it, they claim that some voting machines were not certified by federal law and that the election results should be scrapped and a new election be ordered.   Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick championed the fund during the legislative session and listed it as a priority for lawmakers. On Wednesday, he slammed the plaintiffs for singling out Proposition 14, which was the funding of the research effort.  view article

The state’s new $3 billion dementia research fund has been blocked temporarily by a trio of voters who claim voting machines used in this month’s election are faulty. The plaintiffs — Shannon Huggins, Lars Kuslich and Jose Silvester — filed the action Nov. 13 in Travis County against the Texas Secretary of State’s office. In it, they claim that some voting machines were not certified by federal law and that the election results should be scrapped and a new election be ordered.   Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick championed the fund during the legislative session and listed it as a priority for lawmakers. On Wednesday, he slammed the plaintiffs for singling out Proposition 14, which was the funding of the research effort.  view article