https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/jeremy-schwartz/The latest news by Jeremy Schwartz.enWed, 15 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-school-board-bond-elections/We want to hear about how heated elections affect the people learning, teaching and living in districts across Texas.By Jessica Priest, Jeremy Schwartz, Lexi Churchill and Dan Keemahill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 15 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-school-board-bond-elections/A group that calls itself “pro public education” offers ballot suggestions outside a voting center in Granbury.Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-tim-dunn-wilks-brothers-vouchers-courtney-gore/The largesse from billionaires Tim Dunn and brothers Farris and Dan Wilks has made its way into local politics. Courtney Gore, a Republican school board member in Granbury, says it’s part of their strategy to build support for vouchers.By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, Data reporting by Dan Keemahill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 15 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-tim-dunn-wilks-brothers-vouchers-courtney-gore/Courtney Gore, vice president of the Granbury Independent School District Board of Trustees, listens to public comments during a February meeting.Courtney Gore, vice president of the Granbury Independent School District Board of Trustees, listens to public comments during a February meeting.Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-granbury-isd-school-board-courtney-gore/Courtney Gore, a Granbury ISD school board member, has disavowed the far-right platform she campaigned on. Her defiance has brought her backlash.By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 15 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-granbury-isd-school-board-courtney-gore/Courtney Gore has disavowed the far-right platform she campaigned on when she won election to the Granbury ISD school board.Courtney Gore has disavowed the far-right platform she campaigned on when she won election to the Granbury ISD school board.Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/texas-school-districts-violated-election-transparency-law/The Texas Tribune and ProPublica analyzed 35 Texas school districts that held trustee elections last fall and found none that posted all of the required campaign finance records.By Jessica Priest and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, Research by Dan Keemahill and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThu, 25 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/texas-school-districts-violated-election-transparency-law/A photo illustration shows a web search box with “BOARD ELECTION Campaign Finance Report” and “Page Not Found” over a photo of a Texas school building.Photo illustration by ProPublica. Photo by Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/02/tim-dunn-move-midland-school-bond/Tim Dunn’s public policy groups have helped ensure that tax hike language is attached to every school bond ballot measure in the state. Now he is using that language to cast doubt on a bond in his hometown of Midland.By Jeremy Schwartz and Dan Keemahill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThu, 02 Nov 2023 10:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/02/tim-dunn-move-midland-school-bond/Billionaire Tim Dunn has ties to the leaders of a group working to defeat a historic school bond in his hometown of Midland, Texas. The group has sent out political mailers, including some marked “official notice” like the one pictured.Photo illustration by ProPublica. Source photographs: Brett Buchanan for The Texas Tribune, bond mailer obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/11/texas-library-book-bans/As Texas enters its third straight school year of coordinated book banning activity, a growing number of districts are targeting library books. Caught in the dragnet: books featuring a “naked” crayon and one with a cartoon butt.By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 11 Oct 2023 06:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/11/texas-library-book-bans/https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/28/child-id-bill-hansmire-pennsylvania/Legislation that would require purchasing the kits is facing key opposition after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found no evidence that they’d ever been used to find a missing child. The probe previously spurred Texas to strip millions in funding.By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 28 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/28/child-id-bill-hansmire-pennsylvania/The National Child Identification Program has received contracts from multiple states to supply fingerprinting kits for schoolchildren despite providing no evidence that they have ever been used to find a missing child.Photo illustration by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica. Source images: Kits from the National Child Identification Program.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/08/texas-budget-cut-child-id-kits/Lawmakers were slated to spend millions of taxpayer dollars for the kits but changed course after a series of revelations in a ProPublica and Texas Tribune investigation.By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThu, 08 Jun 2023 09:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/08/texas-budget-cut-child-id-kits/Illustrations by Lauren Crow for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/17/texas-closes-gun-background-check-loophole/State lawmakers passed a bill requiring courts to report involuntary mental health hospitalizations of juveniles for inclusion in the federal gun background check system. The law closes a gap revealed by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune in 2022.By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 17 May 2023 17:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/17/texas-closes-gun-background-check-loophole/On Wednesday, the Texas House of Representatives voted 116-28 in favor of closing a background check loophole for purchasing firearms.A view of the Texas Capitol from the the Capitol extension building on June 22, 2022.Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/08/kenny-hansmire-persuades-politicians-to-fund-child-id-kits/Texas is among at least 11 states that have agreed to distribute fingerprinting kits sold by Kenny Hansmire’s Waco-based National Child Identification Program. Some are spending millions even though similar kits are available for free.By Kiah Collier and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaMon, 08 May 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/08/kenny-hansmire-persuades-politicians-to-fund-child-id-kits/Lauren Crow for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-churches-abilene-donations/A candidate for the Abilene City Council said that three churches made an honest mistake by donating to his campaign and that he is returning the money. The race has been beset by allegations of electioneering by churches.By Jessica Priest and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 05 May 2023 13:30:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-churches-abilene-donations/Despite IRS prohibitions against political campaign activity, three West Texas churches made donations to Scott Beard, a pastor who is running for Abilene City Council.An American flag waves in the wind next to a sign for Scott Beard in Abilene, Texas on Thursday, April 27, 2023. (Photo by Emil T. Lippe for Pro Publica)Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/06/texas-gun-background-check-juvenile-mental-health/After a ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigation found courts failed to report juvenile mental health hospitalizations to the federal firearm background check system, lawmakers from both parties are backing bills to ensure compliance with the law.By Jeremy Schwartz and Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaMon, 06 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/06/texas-gun-background-check-juvenile-mental-health/Legislation requiring Texas officials to report court-ordered mental health hospitalizations of juveniles to the federal background check database has received bipartisan support.The state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 9, 2023.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/20/granbury-books-investigation-civil-rights/The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has opened what appears to be the first-of-its-kind investigation into the Granbury Independent School District after it banned school library books dealing with sexuality and gender.By Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaTue, 20 Dec 2022 10:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/20/granbury-books-investigation-civil-rights/The superintendent of the Granbury Independent School District, Jeremy Glenn, second from right, at a school board meeting in March. He was secretly recorded ordering librarians to remove LGBTQ-themed library books.The superintendent of the Granbury Independent School District, Jeremy Glenn, second from right, at a school board meeting in March. He was secretly recorded ordering librarians to remove LGBTQ-themed library books.Shelby Tauber for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune/NBC Newshttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/02/border-wall-texas-doj-arcadis-webuildthewall/The report confirms a ProPublica and Texas Tribune investigation that found the privately built fencing could collapse during major flooding. The federal government resisted making the findings public for more than a year.By Jeremy Schwartz and Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 02 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/02/border-wall-texas-doj-arcadis-webuildthewall/Erosion can be seen along a privately funded border wall in Mission in June 2020.Erosion can be seen along the privately funded border wall that was built less than a year ago on June 19, 2020 in Mission, Texas. Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublicaVerónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/11/07/churches-list-violations-johnson-amendment/Churches aren’t supposed to endorse political candidates, according to IRS rules. Across the country, churches appear to be doing so anyway.By Jessica Priest and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Chris Morran, ProPublicaMon, 07 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2022/11/07/churches-list-violations-johnson-amendment/Video editing by Gerardo del Valle/ProPublica. Source videos: Cowboy Church of Corsicana, Mercy Culture, KingdomLife, Friendship-West Baptist Church, Sojourn Church, Beth Sar Shalom, Abundant Life Church, Unite Church, Legacy Church.Video editing by Gerardo del Valle/ProPublica. Source videos: Cowboy Church of Corsicana, Mercy Culture, KingdomLife, Friendship-West Baptist Church, Sojourn Church, Beth Sar Shalom, Abundant Life Church, Unite Church, Legacy Church.https://www.texastribune.org/2022/11/06/texas-churches-johnson-amendment-election/Churches in Texas invited Beto O’Rourke and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to speak to their congregations before the 2022 midterms, raising questions about the effectiveness of the Johnson Amendment.By Jeremy Schwartz, Jessica Priest and Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaSun, 06 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2022/11/06/texas-churches-johnson-amendment-election/Juanjo Gasull for ProPublica/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/30/religious-organizations-elections-johnson-amendment/Federal law bars churches and other nonprofit groups from endorsing candidates or helping to fundraise, but we know they regularly sidestep — or flat-out ignore — these rules. Help us identify examples.By Jessica Priest and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaSun, 30 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/30/religious-organizations-elections-johnson-amendment/Juanjo Gasull for The Texas Tribune/ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/30/johnson-amendment-elections-irs/For nearly 70 years, federal law has barred churches from directly involving themselves in political campaigns, but the IRS has largely abdicated its enforcement responsibilities as churches have become more brazen about publicly backing candidates.By Jeremy Schwartz and Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaSun, 30 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/30/johnson-amendment-elections-irs/https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/17/election-administrators-harassment-david-becker/David Becker of The Center for Election Innovation & Research talks with The Texas Tribune and ProPublica about election official turnover and its impact on voting.By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaMon, 17 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/17/election-administrators-harassment-david-becker/Voters wait in line at a polling site at Austin Oaks Church in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 14, 2020.Voters wait in line at a polling site at Austin Oaks Church on Oct. 14, 2020.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/13/texas-guns-background-checks-juvenile/Lawmakers tried in 2009 to require that the state report all court-ordered mental health hospitalizations to a federal gun background check system. Juveniles have been left out.By Jeremy Schwartz and Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaWed, 13 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/13/texas-guns-background-checks-juvenile/Thousands of roses and handwritten notes, hundreds of candles, and dozens of stuffed animals surround a fountain in the center of the City of Uvalde Town Square in Texas on May 29.Thousands of roses and handwritten notes, hundreds of candles and dozens of stuffed animals surround a fountain in the center of the City of Uvalde Town Square in Ulvade on May 29, 2022.Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune