Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, Sept. 11, 2023:
Austin ISD pushes back on state takeover of special education services
The Austin Independent School District has failed to adequately serve students with disabilities, according to a Texas Education Agency investigation published this spring. The agency found AISD violated state and federal law, in part by not evaluating students for special education services within a required timeframe. Originally, the state planned to step in and install a team to manage the special education department – like its intervention in Houston schools, but on a smaller scale.
However, now the district has put forward an alternative plan. KUT education reporter Becky Fogel joins Texas Standard with the latest.
Texas’ historic heat makes its ailing water infrastructure even harder to fix
This summer’s record-breaking heat has caused extensive damage to Texas’ water systems. Rising temperatures and shifting soil have resulted in widespread leaks costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars to fix.
But Texas cities were struggling to make do with ailing water infrastructure long before this summer – and even with a billion-dollar Texas Water Fund to sponsor system improvements, Texas might not be able to resolve its water infrastructure issues. Inside Climate News reporter Dylan Baddour joins the Standard with more.
The week in Texas music history
A yodeling country music legend was born this week in 1934. Jason Mellard with The Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University shares the story of Don Walser.
The political and economic impacts of Russia and Saudi Arabia’s oil decisions
Two of the world’s major oil exporters just announced production cuts. Last week Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to slash oil output by 1 million barrels and 300,000 barrels, respectively, to bolster oil prices. What will that mean for U.S. consumers?
Kpler energy analyst Matt Smith joins the Standard the story.
Austin is not doing enough to communicate with non-English speakers, audit finds
Access to important information – like emergency alerts and city programs – can be hard to come by. And if English isn’t your first language, that’s even more difficult.
Now a new report finds the City of Austin is not doing enough to communicate with people in languages other than English. KUT’s Luz Moreno-Lozano reports.
New project delves into fentanyl’s death toll in North Texas
Five Texans die from fentanyl in Texas every day, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. Increasingly, those dying are the young: high schoolers and young adults.
A new project from The Dallas Morning News examines the scale, scope and impact of this crisis and the lives of family members and loved ones close to those claimed by the epidemic. Reporter Sharon Grigsby joins Texas Standard with a look at the project.
3M has agreed to pay $6 billion over faulty earplugs. Now, plaintiffs must decide whether to accept.
Manufacturer 3M has agreed to pay six billion dollars to veterans and service members who say their hearing was damaged by faulty earplugs. The plugs were made for the military by a 3M subsidiary. Now, a quarter-million plaintiffs have to decide if they want to participate in the settlement.
Jay Price reports for the American Homefront Project.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
