Pre-K classes maybe getting a little smaller.
Results of a recent study by the Texas Education Agency and Department of Family and Protective Services indicate that the student-teacher ratio shouldn’t exceed 11:1 for a pre-kindergarten class. The study was mandated by the 2015 law creating a $118 million pre-K grant program and reviewed at an August meeting of the Senate Education Committee. State legislators will have the opportunity to lower the grant’s existing cap of 22 students per class during the legislative session. To read more…
White Host plans South by South Lawn festival. 
Taking a cue from Austin, the White House will host a South by Southwest-inspired event on the south lawn this October. President Obama spoke at SXSW earlier this year and wants to recreate the festival’s spirit of innovation and creative thinking at South by South Lawn with panel discussions, musical performances and a film portion. To read more…
Might Texas go blue in November?
No Democratic presidential candidate has taken Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976, but a new Washington Post poll puts Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton neck-and-neck, each earning about 40% of Texas’ electoral votes. The poll has Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein securing the remaining 20% of votes. Though the Lone Star’s fate is far from sealed, Texas hasn’t seen a general election race for president this close in years. To read more…
Only in Austin…
Bevo XV made his debut at Texas’ season opener against Notre Dame this weekend, greeted by a stadium of over 100,000 fans. After Bevo XIV died unexpectedly from leukemia last October, a search committee was immediately assembled. Though he’s one of the youngest Bevo’s to take the field at just 18 months old, Bevo XV’s docile temperament and rare burnt orange coat make him the perfect steer for the job. Long may he reign. To read more…