Daily Dispatch 3/24/25: GOP Continues Attacks On Education From Kindergarten Thru College, And More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The Texas Senate has approved SB-12, a bill that will expand its ban on DEI efforts to our K-12 public schools: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/24/texas-dei-public-schools-k12/

Also in the Senate, SB-37 would establish an additional layer of bureaucracy over state universities, for the purpose of ensuring that “courses do not endorse specific public policies, ideologies or legislation”...vague language that would let them crush any view with which they disagree: https://www.statesman.com/story/opinion/columns/your-voice/2025/03/24/texas-senate-bill-37-sb37-weaken-public-universities-opinion/82556335007/

And SB-31, which would clarify what doctors can do to intervene in problematic pregancies amidst Texas' near-complete abortion ban, sees support from doctors, but less enthusiasm from advocates for the broader restoration of reproductive freedom: https://www.kut.org/politics/2025-03-24/texas-legislation-life-of-the-mother-senate-bill-31-abortion-ban-doctors

Water is a key topic in the Legislature, and while a major investment is widely seen as necessary, exactly how to spend that money remains troublingly unclear: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/24/texas-legislature-water-supply-infrastructure-repair-perry-harris/

Two bills designed to limit the impact of bots and digital fraud will either help alleviate those problems - or will show which party feels they actually benefit from disinformation on social media: https://www.nathanfortexas.com/posts/release-senator-johnson-files-sjr-82-wg77p

On March 29th, the State Democratic Executive Committee will choose a new chair for the Texas Democratic Party - while you don't get to vote in this very important election, you have a representative on that committee, and you should let them know your preferences: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org/blog/most-important-election-you-don%E2%80%99t-know-about⁠⁠⁠⁠

Women's History Month, being observed throughout March across Texas, serves both as a celebration of the history of breakthroughs for women, and a reminder that Texas is the worst state for them: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org/blog/celebrating-women%E2%80%99s-history-month-worst-state-women⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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