Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, March 31, 2025:
Texas House takes up school choice as key vote looms
The Texas House Committee on Public Education is set to debate school choice legislation this week, reviving a contentious issue that’s repeatedly stalled in the lower chamber. Lawmakers will weigh whether this version stands a better chance of passing – and when the full House might vote.
The Texas Newsroom’s Blaise Gainey joins us with a legislative preview.
Three generations come together to honor Cesar Chavez with music and activism
Thousands gathered this month for San Antonio’s annual Cesar E. Chavez March for Justice, celebrating the civil and labor rights leader’s legacy. Since the event began in 1997, musicians Los Inocentes have composed ballads telling his story.
Texas Public Radio’s Norma Martinez reports.
This week in Texas music history
Jason Mellard with The Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University shares the tale of Billy Bob’s opening in Fort Worth.
Texas child welfare system left kids in danger, investigation finds
An investigation into child abuse deaths in Texas reveals a system that often left children in unsafe homes while closing cases too soon. One tragic example from the 1,200 Texas children who died from abuse or neglect between 2018 and 2023: the 2022 death of 9-year-old HardiQuinn Hill in Brownwood.
Paul Flahive discusses the case in Texas Public Radio’s new series “When Home is the Danger.” He joins the Standard in this month’s investigative Drill Down segment.
A year after funding overhaul, how are Texas community colleges faring?
Texas community colleges are adjusting to a new funding model that rewards schools for graduation rates rather than just enrollment. More than a year in, how has this shift impacted students and institutions?
The Texas Tribune’s Sneha Dey joins the show with more.
30 years after her death, Selena’s legacy only grows in Corpus
It’s been three decades since Tejano icon Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was killed, but her influence remains as strong as ever. Nowhere is that clearer than in Corpus Christi, where fans continue to celebrate her life and music.
Texas Standard’s Raul Alonzo visited his hometown to see how the city remembers its most famous star.
Long waits for justice in rural Texas jails
In parts of rural Texas, awaiting trial behind bars for months on end is a regular experience. Take Maverick County, which reporter Jolie McCullough says has a dysfunctional court system where “basic tenets of American justice often do not apply.”
McCullough, a New York Times local investigations fellow, joins the show with more.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
