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Texas teachers and school administrators could more easily kick misbehaving students out of class under a wide-ranging bill debated this week. In the weeks after the Uvalde massacre, a Lubbock Republican drew attention when he told his fellow lawmakers: “Not all kids belong in the classroom anymore.” Sen. Charles Perry pledged to tackle school discipline this session.
The Beaumont Police Department began its partnership with Inspire, Encourage, Achieve five years ago in order to make a difference in the life of juveniles that are currently in the Minnie Rogers Juvenile Justice Center. There are 15 mentors that meet weekly with the juveniles to show them a positive outlook on life and help them believe in themselves.
In the Lone Star State, a person’s path through the justice system is rarely guided by justice. It’s guided by politics. A young person of color fears when a police car follows them, knowing some police scour the streets looking for an excuse to turn on their red and blues. A person short on cash can’t make bail, calling the jail their temporary home – a rich person cuts a check and walks immediately.
A bill that would allow for the removal of district attorneys who institute non-prosecution policies has passed the Texas Senate with bipartisan support. Senate Bill 20, authored by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), passed the Senate earlier this month. The proposal passed by a vote of 20 to 11, with Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen) voting alongside Republicans.
The race to replace Ana Sandoval in San Antonio’s District 7 — a starting point for two recent mayors and a county commissioner — has drawn interest from a field of up-and-coming potential city leaders. While just one of them will join City Council in June, the race is unlikely to be the last for any of the District 7 hopefuls polishing their skills in recent candidate forums.
Webb County Commissioners Court will meet Tuesday to discuss various issues including the submission of different grants that will benefit pre-trial services and a juvenile drug treatment court program. An item on the agenda establishes discussion and possible action to authorize Pre-Trial Services to submit a 2023-24 multi-year grant application to the Texas Commission on Indigent Defense.
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Youth justice advocates, including some Houstonians, are fighting in support of a bill that would see the closure of the state’s five juvenile detention centers, which they say have been beset by “dangerous and inhumane conditions.”
Hundreds of people die every year from taking drugs laced with fentanyl. There's a simple, inexpensive way to prevent such overdoses: small paper test strips that detect the presence of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin. The catch is that the strips are illegal in Texas. But that could soon change.
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Harris County Commissioners Court this week approved a package of public safety measures to support state legislation to create additional district courts, expand the county's holistic assistance response team program and look at enlarging the public defender's office. The measures are aimed at ongoing efforts to reduce the ongoing backlog in the county's criminal courts system and relieve persistent jail overcrowding.
Baquee Sabur's life changed when he had to spend a night sleeping under a Houston overpass. "It was horrible," Sabur said. "Every car that pounces on there, you hear it. It's a dark place. You want to fall asleep, but you don't know if anyone's going to approach you. It's dirty, and you're hanging out where bugs and rats are."
