Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, June 2, 2025:
Texas lawmakers approve public school funding boost
After months of negotiations between the Texas House and Senate, lawmakers have passed a bill to increase public school funding. The bill is on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, where it’s all but certain to become law.
Edward McKinley, state politics reporter for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, joins Texas Standard with more:
These San Antonio schools bounced back from pandemic learning loss
While many districts are still struggling to recover academically after COVID, two in San Antonio have brought student test scores back to pre-pandemic levels.
Texas Public Radio’s Camille Phillips reports from Southside ISD.
Life often gets in the way of adults going back to school. This Texarkana nonprofit has a solution.
Only one state ranks lower than Texas in adults with a high school diploma. But a nonprofit in Texarkana is helping more residents cross the finish line.
Texas Standard’s Sarah Asch reports.
Big tech loves Texas – but are the jobs still coming?
Despite headline-grabbing moves by companies like Tesla and Oracle, tech employment in Texas’s biggest cities is slipping.
Wall Street Journal reporter Isabelle Bousquette joins Texas Standard to explain why.
This week in Texas music history
In June 1999, Austin guitarist Charlie Sexton joined Bob Dylan’s band. Jason Mellard with The Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University has the story:
Texas legalizes right-hand-drive mini trucks – and fans are revved up
They’re small, quirky, and legally drivable in Texas thanks to a new law allowing 25-year-old imported vehicles.
Gwen Howerton, audience producer for the Houston Chronicle, joins Texas Standard with more.
What OPEC’s decision means for U.S. markets
The latest decision from OPEC+ countries has U.S. energy companies preparing for the worst: eyeing major spending cuts, shutting down rigs and trimming workforces.
What happened with OPEC’s decision over the weekend? Kpler energy analyst Matt Smith joins the show with the story.
All this, plus Alexandra Hart with the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
