A judge with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week the Texas Education Agency can release its 2023 A-F school accountability ratings, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The ruling overturned a district judge’s injunction after more than 120 school districts sued to stop TEA from releasing the ratings. Those districts argued the agency did not provide enough advance notice about changes to the formula used to calculate the rating.
The A-F ratings assigned to each district and campus are based on standardized test performance, though the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the process. The appeals court ruled TEA Commissioner Mike Morath had the authority to postpone their issuance or to change the standards after the 20222023 school year was over.
“We agree that after a race is over not everyone can be declared the winner,” the court’s opinion read. “But it is not our role as judges to decide whether the commissioner’s decisions were necessary or fair. The districts’ burden … was to show the commissioner acted ‘without legal authority,’ not that he should have exercised his discretion another way.”
Dueling property tax proposals compared The Texas House and Senate have agreed to spend at least $6 billion to cut property taxes but are taking different approaches, The Texas Tribune reported. The most significant difference that must be reconciled is whether businesses or homeowners get the larger tax break.
The House measure gives more relief to businesses. It would exempt up to $250,000 of business inventory from all property taxes, up from $2,500. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, backs the bill.
“Raising the personal property tax exemption … would be a monumental win for Texas businesses, freeing up funds for business owners to reinvest in the growth of their companies on top of the potential savings provided by buying down property tax rates for all property owners statewide,” Burrows said in February.
The Senate version focuses on bigger tax breaks for homeowners, largely by raising the homestead exemption once again, this time from $100,000 to $140,000.
“I have made increasing the homestead exemption my mission because it is the best way to deliver meaningful property tax reductions for homeowners,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate, said in February. That bill passed unanimously in February.
It contains an increase in personal property tax exemption from $2,500 to $25,000 – much lower than the House version.
Paxton cleared by DOJ, attacks Cornyn
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is no longer being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department, which quietly declined to prosecute him in the final weeks of the Biden presidency, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Paxton took the opportunity to get a dig in at U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, whom he may challenge in next year’s GOP primary. Cornyn, in an online exchange in 2024 while the investigation was ongoing, told Paxton it would be “hard to run from prison.” Last week, Paxton replied.
“This former TX Supreme Court Justice and TX Attorney General ignored the rule of law, the Constitution and innocent until proven guilty while standing with the corrupt Biden DOJ cheering on the bogus witch hunts against both me and President Trump,” Paxton wrote on X. “Care to comment now, John?”
Cornyn retorted Paxton has agreed not to contest a civil suit filed by whistleblowers, which seeks millions in damages.
“Is this the same person that had a $6.6 million judgment entered in Travis County based on the whistleblower complaints, and he didn’t contest any of the allegations? I’m confused,” Cornyn wrote.
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