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Westwood Horizon

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The student news site of Westwood High School.

Westwood Horizon

The student news site of Westwood High School.

Westwood Horizon

A student in a classroom at Cactus Elementary School.

Texas STAAR Test Requirements Waived Due to Coronavirus Outbreak

Aliyya Swaby, The Texas Tribune March 16, 2020

In an unprecedented move, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday he would waive testing requirements for this year’s STAAR exam, as many schools expect to be closed at least through the April testing window,...

"This bill implements every student-outcomes-oriented transformational reform and almost all the finance reforms offered by the school finance commission," says Sen. Larry Taylor, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. "These changes significantly improve equity in the system."

Texas Sen. Larry Taylor Unveils New School Finance Bill, Adding $5,000 Teacher Pay Raise

Aliyya Swaby April 25, 2019

After a long wait, the Texas Senate has finally unveiled a thorough proposal for how to tackle school finance and school property tax reform — bringing back several ideas the House already nixed. State...

US Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D- El Paso, thanks the crowd of supporters as he leaves the stage during the Turn Out For Texas Rally with Willie & Beto held at Auditorium Shores in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2018. U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke is running against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, in a one of the top U.S. Senate races nationally this year.

With Texas Homecoming, Beto O’Rourke Gets Opportunity to Reassert Home-State Strength

Patrick Svitek March 29, 2019

Beto O'Rourke is making his 2020 debut this weekend in Texas — and seizing an opportunity to shore up his home-field advantage as the state begins to draw serious attention from his rivals. After...

Then-U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, spoke to supporters at a campaign rally during his U.S. Senate bid.

A “Big Announcement” from Beto O’Rourke Is on the Horizon

Alex Samuels March 12, 2019

All signs indicate Beto O’Rourke will run for president in 2020. But the former congressman remained coy Saturday during a question-and-answer session at the SXSW Film Festival, where he dodged...

Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, introduces SB 3 on the Senate.

Texas Senate Unanimously Passes $5,000 Teacher Pay Raises, Adding Librarians

Aliyya Swaby and Cassandra Pollack March 6, 2019

Texas Legislature 2019 The 86th Legislature runs from Jan. 8 to May 27. From the state budget to health care to education policy — and the politics behind it all — we focus on what Texans need...

Potential presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke joined a march Monday in response to President Donald Trump's rally in El Paso.

Beto O’Rourke Turbocharges 2020 Buzz With Response to Trump Rally in El Paso

Patrick Svitek February 14, 2019

EL PASO — Beto O'Rourke didn't utter a word about 2020 here Monday night, but he didn't have to. Acknowledgment or not, O'Rourke's leading role in his hometown's response to President Donald Trump's...

President Donald Trump held the first rally of his 2020 re-election campaign Monday at the El Paso County Coliseum while possible Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke hosted a competing rally across the street.

Donald Trump and Beto O’Rourke Go Head-to-Head in El Paso

Julián Aguilar and Patrick Svitek February 12, 2019

EL PASO — President Donald Trump kicked off his first major rally of the year here the same way he campaigned during his successful 2016 bid: by unleashing a torrent of criticism on the media, pushing...

A natural gas flare in Pecos County, Texas. The state's natural gas plants, particularly those in West Texas, flare off tens of millions of pounds of toxic sulfur dioxide and hundreds of millions of pound of poisonous hydrogen sulfide every year.

Report: Unauthorized Air Pollution in Texas up 27 Percent in 2017

Kiah Collier January 31, 2019

Texas industrial facilities continued to spew out tens of millions of pounds of unauthorized air pollution in 2017 as a result of equipment malfunctions and other incidents that companies claimed were...

House Speaker Dennis Bonnen presiding over his first votes as speaker of the house. Jan. 9, 2019.

Texas House Proposes Massive Increase for Public School Funding

Edgar Walters January 18, 2019

As Texas’ Republican leadership calls for property tax cuts and a school finance overhaul, the Texas House on Monday pitched a bold proposal: Pump roughly $7 billion more state funds into public schools...

State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, is sworn in as House speaker on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.

Texas House Names Dennis Bonnen New Speaker on Celebratory Opening Day

Cassandra Pollack, Edgar Walters, and Alex Samuels January 8, 2019

A gray fog descended on Austin Tuesday morning, but the scene inside the Texas Capitol was one of colorful festivities to mark the first day of the 86th biennial legislative session. And perhaps the heartiest...

Early voting at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View.

Texas Saw the Nation’s Sixth-Highest Voter Turnout Increase but Still Lagged Behind Most Other States

Elbert Wang December 10, 2018

Four years after Texas ranked near the bottom in voter turnout in the country, the state saw a double-digit percentage point increase in that figure for the 2018 midterms. But that wasn’t good enough...

Beto O'Rourke speaks to his supporters after losing to Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterm elections, in El Paso on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018.

Beto O’Rourke No Longer Ruling Out 2020 Presidential Run

Julián Aguilar and Patrick Svitek November 28, 2018

EL PASO – Beto O'Rourke, coming off a closer-than-expected race against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is no longer ruling out a 2020 presidential run. During his Senate campaign, the El Paso congressman declared he...

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