https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/sneha-dey/The latest news by Sneha Dey.enTue, 02 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/02/texas-community-colleges-funding/A historic $683 million investment in community colleges rewards schools for getting students to complete a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year university or participate in college courses as early as high school.Sneha DeyTue, 02 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/02/texas-community-colleges-funding/The Austin Community College Riverside campus on Feb. 27, 2019.The Austin Community College Riverside campus on Feb. 27, 2019.Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/07/vernon-texas-community-colleges/To survive, Texas community colleges have to prove their worth. But residents of this rural north Texas town are questioning what's right for them.Sneha DeyThu, 07 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/07/vernon-texas-community-colleges/Nikki Murray, center, watches her grandson, nieces and nephew play outside her home in Vernon on Dec. 3. Murray, who became a mother at 15, didn’t finish college and is the kind of resident the local community college is trying to keep.Nikki Murray, center, watches her grandson, nieces and nephew play outside her home on Sunday, December 3, 2023 in Vernon. Murray, who works as a cashier at McDonald’s, attended Vernon College in the early 2000s but withdrew to raise her two kids while in an abusive relationship. College is still a dream for her, but she is currently settled in her job and continues to focus on caring for her family.Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/02/texas-microschool-black-children-school-vouchers/The mothers, who are counting on state legislators to reach a deal on education savings accounts, say their public schools were not equipped to create a learning space that is safe for Black kids.Sneha DeyThu, 02 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/02/texas-microschool-black-children-school-vouchers/Mothers Anna Sneed, Chantel Jones-Bigby and Sharby Hunt-Hart with their daughters at the Rowlett Public Library in Rowlett on Oct. 26, 2023.Mothers Anna Sneed, Chantel Jones-Bigby and Sharby Hunt-Hart with their daughters at the Rowlett Public Library in Rowlett, TX on October 26, 2023.Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/26/texas-cps-caseworker-turnover/The Department of Family and Protective Services has increasingly relied on housing foster kids in hotels when it can’t find them a home. In the 2022 fiscal year, after record staff turnover, more than 1 in 4 caseworkers had less than one year of experience.Sneha DeyTue, 26 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/26/texas-cps-caseworker-turnover/Turnover at the Texas Department of Family and Protective services has soared. Employees cite low pay and heavy caseloads as some of the reasons staffers are leaving.A former DFPS employee's badge on April 6, 2022.Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/22/texas-universities-chancellors-diversity/The law requires publicly-funded universities and colleges to close their diversity, equity and inclusion offices, creating hiring challenges.Sneha DeyFri, 22 Sep 2023 14:17:38 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/22/texas-universities-chancellors-diversity/Kate McGee, higher education reporter at The Texas Tribune, moderates a panel with Renu Khator, John Sharp and Tedd Mitchell, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 22, 2023.4Kate McGee, higher education reporter at The Texas Tribune, moderates a panel with Renu Khator, John Sharp and Tedd Mitchell, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 22, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/22/hays-county-higgins-rogue-prosecutors-removal/Personal conflict between two newly elected Democrats briefly escalated into public view. An attempt to remove one from county office came in the background of university, state and federal impeachment attempts.Sneha DeyFri, 22 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/22/hays-county-higgins-rogue-prosecutors-removal/Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins is being targeted by a fellow Democrat under a new state law Republicans crafted to remove "rogue" prosecutors from office.Hays Co. District Attorney Kelly Higgins.Campaign websitehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/30/texas-life-support-notice-period/Medical professionals now must tell families 25 days in advance before ending care. Some groups wish the state gave families even more power when they disagree with a doctor’s prognosis.Sneha DeyWed, 30 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/30/texas-life-support-notice-period/Health care workers work at Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant in 2021.Healthcare workers work in the COVID-19 care unit of the Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant on Aug. 19, 2021.Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/22/texas-border-barrier-justice-department-court-hearing/In a court hearing over the barrier near Eagle Pass, the U.S. Justice Department argued it was installed without federal authorization, while lawyers for the state said it notified the proper authorities.Sneha DeyTue, 22 Aug 2023 18:23:29 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/22/texas-border-barrier-justice-department-court-hearing/Migrants walk along the Rio Grande past the floating barrier in Eagle Pass on July 29. The U.S. Department of Justice is trying to force Texas to remove the barrier through a federal lawsuit.Migrants walk along the Rio Grande passed the recently installed buoys in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 29, 2023. As there is concertina wire installed along the Urbina’s property, migrants are told to walk to the end of the property. Many make that walk which can be difficult to do through slippery rocks in the water, the current and the inclined river bank, while some find spots through the concertina wire and manage to get through. Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas TribuneVerónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/20/texas-ercot-conservation-request/ERCOT asked energy customers to reduce their electricity use from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, the third conservation request this year and the second in three days as punishing summer heat continues.Sneha DeySun, 20 Aug 2023 17:24:12 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/20/texas-ercot-conservation-request/https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/15/texas-cps-child-abuse-marta-talbert/The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ investigations division has seen record-high staff turnover, with 4 in 10 investigators leaving their jobs in 2022.Sneha DeyTue, 15 Aug 2023 15:55:10 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/15/texas-cps-child-abuse-marta-talbert/The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Council met and listened to testimony in Austin on March 10.The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Council met and listened to testimony in Austin on March 10, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/04/texas-legislature-child-care-budget/Federal pandemic relief to hard-hit day care operators is drying up, forcing some providers to close.Sneha DeyFri, 04 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/04/texas-legislature-child-care-budget/A child plays with Play-Doh at Kid's Castle Family Daycare and Preschool in Pflugerville, on Feb. 28, 2022.A child plays with Play-Doh at Kid's Castle Family Daycare and Preschool in Pflugerville, on Feb. 28, 2022.Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/02/tamu-interim-president-welsh/In his first comments as interim president, Mark A. Welsh IIII cast recent concerns over political interference in Texas A&M’s employment decisions as “communication breakdowns.”Sneha Dey and Kate McGeeWed, 02 Aug 2023 18:48:30 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/02/tamu-interim-president-welsh/Mark A. Welsh III, interim president of Texas A&M University, speaks at a press conference on the Texas A&M campus on Wednesday.Retired General Mark A. Welsh III, interim president of Texas A&M University, speaks at a press conference in the Flag Room of the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M campus, on Aug. 2, 2023.Courtesy of Meredith Seaver/The Eaglehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/12/texas-dps-austin-police/Austin Mayor Kirk Watson had said that troopers pulling a gun on a 10-year-old prompted the end of the agreement. A video of that encounter shows troopers with guns pointed at the ground, not the child.Sneha Dey and Noah Alcala BachWed, 12 Jul 2023 13:52:01 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/12/texas-dps-austin-police/Texas Department of Public Safety vehicles at the Texas Capitol in 2018. Austin officials asked state troopers to help patrol city streets this year amid a shortage of officers and growing response times to emergency calls.Increased presence of DPS at the state Capitol after a suspicious package was reported in Austin on Oct. 30, 2018.John Jordan/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/29/texas-foster-care-cps-investigations/Legislators also passed bills that will provide foster kids entering the troubled system with duffel bags or backpacks and those aging out of the system with help setting up bank accounts.Sneha DeyThu, 29 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/29/texas-foster-care-cps-investigations/The sun sets behind the Texas Capitol in Austin in May. Lawmakers focused many of their changes to the state’s foster care system this year on keeping kids out of state care.The sun sets behind the Texas Capitol in Austin on May 12, 2023.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/27/texas-foster-care-lawsuit/A U.S. district judge has long presided over a court case that found Texas’ foster care system unconstitutionally harms kids. Tuesday’s hearing was the first appearance by the state’s new team of defense attorneys.Sneha DeyTue, 27 Jun 2023 15:20:01 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/27/texas-foster-care-lawsuit/The United States District Court in Corpus Christi in April. Texas foster care officials have been under court oversight for years after a judge found the child welfare system harms kids.The United States District Court in Corpus Christi, Texas on April 11, 2023. This courthouse is home to the Corpus Christi Division of the Southern District of Texas.Blaine Young for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/22/texas-state-historical-association-lawsuit/Texas State Historical Association members can’t agree on the makeup of the group’s board. And Executive Director J.P. Bryan, a descendant of Stephen F. Austin, is suing.Sneha DeyThu, 22 Jun 2023 16:39:49 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/22/texas-state-historical-association-lawsuit/Texas State Historical Association merchandise on display during the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin in September. The association is mired in an internal debate about the makeup of its governing board.Texas State Historical Association merchandise on display at Open Congress during the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 24, 2022.Erika Rich for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/18/east-texas-power-outages/Some Texans may have to wait a week for their power to be restored during a period of extreme heat and humidity.Sneha DeySun, 18 Jun 2023 16:57:05 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/18/east-texas-power-outages/Longview in August 2018. More than 30,000 residents are still without power as of Sunday afternoon in Gregg County, where Longview is located. Some in East Texas may have to wait up to a week to have their power restored.Longview High School - Earlier this year the 1970 federal segregation order was lifted for Longview ISD.Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/31/texas-department-family-protective-services-foster-care/Lawmakers were assured that outsourcing management of foster care services would fix the state’s troubled child welfare agency. But the rollout of the new model, set to be completed by 2029, has been complicated by setbacks.Sneha DeyWed, 31 May 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/31/texas-department-family-protective-services-foster-care/State Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, answers a question from Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, regarding Senate Bill 11 on May 18, 2017.State Rep. James Frank R-Wichita Falls, answers a question from Rep. Armando Walle D-Houston regarding SB 11 on May 18, 2017Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/26/texas-food-stamp-vehicle-qualifications/The value of a household’s vehicles disqualified nearly 55,000 people seeking federal food assistance in 2022. House Bill 1287 increases the threshold of car values that lead to SNAP applicants being denied aid.Sneha DeyFri, 26 May 2023 15:19:40 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/26/texas-food-stamp-vehicle-qualifications/Volunteers from neighboring small towns divide, box up and load their trucks with food from the Amarillo-based High Plains Food Bank for monthly delivery to Quitaque in June 2019.Volunteers from neighboring small towns divide, box-up, and load their trucks with food from the Amarillo-based High Plains Food Bank for monthly delivery to Quitaque on June 28, 2019.Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/23/texas-schools-libraries-books/Approved by both chambers, the bill is now on its way to the governor. Unless he vetoes it, the bill will become law, which means book vendors will have to assign ratings to books based on depictions or references to sex.Sneha Dey and Raul Trey LopezTue, 23 May 2023 22:46:58 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/23/texas-schools-libraries-books/Vandegrift High School's library in Austin on March 2, 2022.Vandegrift High School's library in Austin on March 2, 2022.Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune