Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Wednesday, June 26, 2024:
Supreme Court sides with Biden administration in free speech case
The Supreme Court has sided with the Biden administration, throwing out a Republican-led lawsuit – and overturning a Fifth Circuit court ruling – that claimed the administration had unlawfully pressured social media platforms to censor posts. For more we’re joined by Tara Grove, the Vinson and Elkins Chair in Law at UT Law:
Texas doesn’t fund special education enough — and it’s hurting districts’ pockets
Disability advocates say state spending on special education in Texas falls short by $2 billion – leaving school districts to foot the bill. And KERA’s Caroline Love says even wealthy districts like Plano ISD are struggling to come up with the funds.
Ted Cruz would end taxes on server tips – and cost the U.S. tens of billions of dollars
There’s mixed reaction in Texas over a new proposal from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz that would make service workers’ tips exempt from federal taxes on year-end tax returns:
New investigation reveals what happened to the promise of ‘40 acres and a mule’
The promise of “40 acres and a mule,” issued before the end of the Civil War, was intended to be a form of reparation for formerly enslaved Black Americans. But the promise was fulfilled for only a few – and even then, quickly taken away.
Public radio show Reveal’s three-part series “40 Acres and a Lie” delves into what happened. Alexia Fernández Campbell was part of the team that reported the story, and she joins the Standard today.
Texas program provides mental health resources for law enforcement officers
In 2022, Texas recorded the highest number of law enforcement officer deaths by suicide nationally. The Texas Blue Chip Program started that same year as a North Texas initiative to provide police officers with free and anonymous mental health care.
Now the program is expanding statewide. The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute’s B.J. Wagner joins the Standard with more.
Meet the chirping frogs of Austin. They’re all around, but you never see them.
Even in the city, wildlife surrounds us. Sometimes it’s obvious, but sometimes, we’re only reminded by a fleeting glimpse or a sound.
It was that last thing that started KUT’s Mose Buchele on this report. It’s about a nearly invisible creature you’ve probably never seen but have most definitely heard.
He lingered for months in jail. Long waits for Texas mental health beds mean he’s not alone.
When someone is declared incompetent to stand trial in Texas, they might wait months or years for their case to move forward.
As KERA’s Miranda Suarez reports, the process gets even more complicated when the defendant has an intellectual disability.
All this, plus Alexandra Hart with the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
