Tagged: Education

When the House and Senate filed base budgets last week, advocates for programs that were cut in 2011, including public education, were upset the budgets didn’t restore funding. Lawmakers countered that the budget was expected to grow.

A new study shows Texas' four-year high school graduation rate rose to 78.9 percent in 2009-2010, putting the Lone Star State above the national average of 78.2 percent.

A federal study released by the National Center of Education Statistics shows that Texas' four-year graduation rate increased from its previous study, from 73.1 percent in the 2006-2007 school year to 78.9 percent in 2009-2010.

State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, is pushing for a school voucher system called Taxpayer Savings Grants that would allow students to pick a private school if they are unhappy with their public school.

Now that he’s the chair of the Senate Education Committee, Patrick could use the platform to champion the program, and he has two words for a school voucher system: "Why not?"