Jessica Priest
@jessica_priest
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Professionally curious, but normally too busy to tweet! Higher education reporter @TexasTribune
Joined May 2010
A Texas college was warned that a proposed lease could violate the law. Two decades later, the college went further. It donated 38 acres to a private religious school. “Faith and patience is the path,” said the college’s former attorney.
propublica.org
The donation raises questions about government oversight at a time when Texas officials are increasingly blurring the lines between church and state.
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UPDATE: UT System names John Zerwas as chancellor, Jim Davis as UT-Austin president via @TexasTribune.
texastribune.org
Both Zerwas and Davis have been serving as interim leaders of the university system and its flagship.
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@TexasTribune 5/5 Students like Katerin saw their tuition bills nearly double overnight, going from in-state to out-of-state rates. She fought to get her lower rate restored, but advocates warn many others lack the resources or support to challenge misclassification.
texastribune.org
The state isn’t providing schools with guidance and advocates say students who still qualify for lower rates are being asked to pay thousands more.
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@TexasTribune 4/5 It is not just UT-Austin. Advocates say many colleges lack trained staff, have demanded original documents, and have mistakenly told some noncitizens they could not enroll.
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3/5 This builds on a crisis the @TexasTribune reported on in June when thousands of undocumented students who once qualified for in-state tuition faced bills that were more than double what other Texans pay.
texastribune.org
Thousands of undocumented students who grew up in Texas now face college tuition costs that are more than twice what other state residents pay.
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2/5 At UT-Austin, confusion deepened after the school sent students a message with two errors:.1⃣ It wrongly said a “new Texas law” changed eligibility. 2⃣ It required “lawful immigration status,” but the court said lawful presence, which includes DACA holders.
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1/5 A federal court ruling in June ended in-state tuition for many undocumented students in Texas, and the fallout is unfolding now. In a July court filing, Texas’ own attorneys acknowledged DACA students remain eligible, yet many are being misclassified as out-of-state.
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RT @McGeeReports: A must-read from @jessica_priest on how TX higher ed is handling the end of in-state tuition for undocumented students.….
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Fifth Circuit halts West Texas A&M drag show ban as free speech lawsuit continues via @TexasTribune.
texastribune.org
In a split decision, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the school’s prohibition on drag performances, finding students are likely to prove it violates the First Ame…
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Judge denies undocumented students’ attempt to challenge sudden loss of in-state tuition via @TexasTribune #HigherEd.
texastribune.org
Two groups tried to intervene in a case that blocked Texas’ decade-old law allowing certain undocumented students to pay the lower tuition rates at public universities. They’re appealing that decisio…
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RT @RyanChandlerTV: In 2021, now-Chief Justice Blacklock wrote the Texas Constitution “enables quorum breaking by a minority faction of the….
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Five years after shedding Confederate moniker, a West Texas high school may be Lee High again via @TexasTribune.
texastribune.org
The Midland school district rebranded Robert E. Lee High as Legacy High in 2020, part of a nationwide trend to distance public places from the Confederacy.
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Increased attention on Texas House Democratic leader Gene Wu comes with more anti-Asian insults via @TexasTribune.
texastribune.org
“Is Gene Wu back in China?” state Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican, posted on X on Monday — the first day the House did not reach a quorum due to the absent Democrats.
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Texas House votes to track down, arrest Democratic lawmakers who left the state via @TexasTribune.
texastribune.org
The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.
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The IRS says churches can now endorse candidates. That could give Texas pastors more power than ever. via @TexasTribune.
texastribune.org
One expert said Texas — with more than 200 megachurches — will be the epicenter for pastors and congregations to test out their new influence.
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RT @serrano_alej: New: Meet Goliad County Roy Boyd, who's emerged as a model for how sheriffs can serve in President Donald Trump’s immigra….
texastribune.org
Roy Boyd has also become one of the loudest cheerleaders for partnerships between sheriffs and ICE to offer the federal agency unprecedented access to jails and deputies.
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RT @emfoxhall: The city of Kerrville released copies of texts and emails that officials sent Friday morning as the flood waters raged. A b….
texastribune.org
Lawmakers plan to hear testimony Thursday in Kerr County. Questions remain about how state and local entities responded to flood warnings.
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From racism claims to a $725,000 settlement, a University of North Texas professor's lawsuit mirrors the state's shifting views on free speech. Story by @a_y_denrunnels via @TexasTribune
texastribune.org
Professor Timothy Jackson was accused of making racist remarks at the height of the racial reckoning that followed George Floyd's murder. His free speech suit against the university comes to an end i…
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‘College hazing’ or training? Amid shortage, air traffic recruits wash out.
washingtonpost.com
Almost 20 percent of air traffic control trainees fail to complete training at their first tower or center, slowing efforts to rebuild the workforce.
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