Out today: SB 13 neutered librarians’ authority over their collections. I no longer determine what goes into my collection. I make recommendations, and a council of parents called a School Library Advisory Council (SLAC) decides whether or not to recommend approval. https://www.texasobserver.org/abilene-isd-librarian-book-ban/
#books #education #Library #censorship #Texas #TXlege #Politics #USpol #News
"The power of that office is to say 'This is how much revenue you have. And here are the long-term investments of the State of Texas, and here’s who’s benefiting most, least, and not at all from those investments.' And the comptroller has not done much of that in the last several years." https://www.texasobserver.org/sarah-eckhardt-texas-comptroller-bob-bullock/
Out today: "We’ve not heard analysis of what happens economically long-term if we fail to invest in universal public #education. The comptroller’s office has not provided analysis of the economic cost to people and to the public of the largest uninsured population in the United States." https://www.texasobserver.org/sarah-eckhardt-texas-comptroller-bob-bullock/
#healthcare #politics #USpol #schools #Texas #TXlege #news #Democrats #midterms #elections
Blue-county DAs have increasingly prompted legislative and political backlash –including with the Republican-held Texas Lege passing a so-called rogue DA law that allows the state to recall and replace elected local prosecutors for not pursuing charges for certain types of crimes like low-level drug possession, or refusing to prosecute abortion providers. https://www.texasobserver.org/bexar-county-district-attorney-dem-primary/
For The Barbed Wire: Two years after the #Texas anti-DEI law went into effect, I used online research and hours of interviews with nonprofit workers — along with current and former students — to create a broad survey of the damage caused by this law. In brief,
❌ At least 12 resource centers that either specialized in LGBTQ+ student life, or offered services and programs tailored to their needs, have shut down
❌ More than 100 faculty and staff that supported LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups were either laid off or transferred to new positions at public universities across the state
❌ LGBTQ+ student groups lost advisors, funding, and well as supportive venues to host events, leaving many to shut down or become newly dependent on donations
❌ Under pressure from state and federal officials, a host of related policies have proliferated, from cutbacks to LGBTQ+ classes to bans on campus drag performances
❌ Students have lost “safe spaces,” including gender-neutral bathrooms
❌ As centers closed, students lost access to STI testing, mammograms, and other health care services — including flu prevention — offered in a supportive, safe environment
❌ The cutbacks and cultural shifts caused by the anti-DEI law created an atmosphere that was more permissive of attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, students said
Read more at The Barbed Wire: https://thebarbedwire.com/2026/02/05/communities-ripped-apart-on-texas-college-campuses-lgbtq-services-have-been-completely-decimated/
#DEI #LGBTQIA #Texas #TXlege #education #politics #USpol #News #fascism #trans #queer #transgender #nonprofit #MutualAid
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Rima I Anabtawi
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