Texas Legislature

An appeals court ruled last month Texas can enforce Senate Bill 12, which restricts "sexually oriented" performances in public. Critics say the law is vague and incorrectly portrays all drag performances as sexual.

Senate Bill 12, passed in the 2023 Texas Legislative session is set to go into effect for the first time tomorrow. Our reporter Samantha Larned explains the so-called 'drag ban bill' has been blocked from enforcement for two years. The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that state Attorney General Ken Paxton can obtain records from LGBTQ+ advocacy group PFLAG. The Texas Newsroom’s Lucio Vasquez reports it’s part of an investigation tied to Texas’ ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors.

Texas parents have less than a week left to apply for Texas Education Freedom Accounts — the state’s school voucher program. Last year, the Texas Legislature funded it to the tune of $1 billion dollars. Our Brad Burt reports the Texas Comptroller’s office has been accepting applications for just over a month, and more than 160,000 students have applied for the program’s first year.

School boards had until March 1 to decide whether to establish a daily period for students and staff to pray or read religious texts.

Yesterday, Lubbock County officially opened its new Medical Examiner’s Office, bringing death investigations back to Lubbock after years of outsourcing autopsies. Officials gathered in the panhandle this week for the anniversary of the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest wildfire in Texas history. The 2025 legislative session passed several improvements to the state’s wildfire preparedness, but our Brad Burt reports that lawmakers say the work is not yet done.

Today is the first day of early voting in the Texas primary elections, with various federal, state, and local offices on the ballot. Early voting runs through Feb. 27. Texas is boosting wildfire preparedness across the state, with new funding for volunteer firefighters and emergency plans. Our Bishop Van Buren reports this comes as fire danger in the region is on the rise.

Which private schools can participate in the $1 billion program, how they will be vetted and how they will serve students with special needs are questions raised by education experts and observers.

The ban, which went into effect in September, requires that school districts prohibit students from using cellphones and other personal wireless communication devices during school hours.

Applications will close March 17, with funding notifications sent to families beginning in early April. The rollout follows a years-long battle at the Capitol and marks a major victory for the governor after repeated failed attempts to pass similar legislation.

Tarrant County's 2026 elections are poised to be "the most important of our lifetime," local and state Republican officials said Sunday night after historically red Texas Senate District 9 flipped blue in a runoff election many saw as unwinnable for a Democrat.