Bullied Gay Student And LGBT Activist Isaiah Smith Sues Texas School District

Isaiah Smith was 16 when an episode of "What Would You Do?" inspired him to petition the City Council in small, conservative Keller, Texas, to add LGBT protections. He would go on to speak repeatedly at council meetings, including calling on the mayor to sign a pledge in support of marriage equality.

A year later, Smith was suspended from Birdville High School for carrying a Bible from which he'd ripped out pages containing anti-gay passages. Smith, a Christian, said his decision to carry the Bible was a silent protest against bullying, after other students told him being gay is a sin and he was going to hell.

After the American Humanist Association sent a complaint to the school district alleging it had violated Smith's First Amendment rights, the suspension was overturned, and he was allowed to continue carrying the Bible. Which brings us to this week, when the AHA filed a lawsuit on Smith's behalf against the district and its board over its practice of promoting Christian prayers. Fort Worth Weekly reports:

Three suspects in Waco biker melee released, 2 re-arrested

Three people arrested in connection with Sunday’s biker shootout were released Tuesday, but two of them were again under arrest by evening, police said.

The three had bonds ranging from $20,000 to $50,000 instead of the $1 million set for all the other suspects, officials said.

Jim Harris and Juan Garcia, were arrested again Tuesday. Authorities were still searching for the third man, Drew King.

Waco Police spokesman Sgt. Patrick Swanton said the three were accused of attempting to come to the scene armed with weapons after the shootings.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article21396951.html#storylink=cpy

Texas Senate panel passes restrictions on teen abortions

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A Texas Senate panel has approved tighter restrictions on a process enabling teens to have abortions in extreme cases, when they can't get the required parental consent.

Members of the Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday recommended Republican Rep. Geanie Morrison's bill to the full Senate. It passed the House last week and now only needs upper chamber approval.

Morrison's measure would drastically alter "judicial bypass," allowing girls under 18 to seek a judge's permission to have an abortion without parental consent.

Opponents and even supporters worry about a bill provision stating that if a judge doesn't rule on a judicial bypass application within five days, it is automatically denied.

Read more: http://www.kxxv.com/story/29106474/texas-senate-panel-passes-restrictions-on-teen-abortions

Senate approves $3 billion package of university construction bonds

The Texas Senate voted 26-5 Tuesday to authorize $3 billion in bonds for construction and renovation projects at 64 campuses of public universities, health-related schools and technical colleges.

The measure, House Bill 100, now goes back to the lower chamber, which previously passed a somewhat different version, for $3.1 billion in bonds. The House could go along with the Senate’s changes, or it could call for formation of a House-Senate conference committee to strike a compromise.

The Senate’s debate on HB 100 didn’t focus much on the need for the funding and instead turned to such matters as whether it would be better to pay with cash or bonds. Several senators also bemoaned the Legislature’s decision in 2003 to cede tuition-setting control to public university governing boards. In the end, amendments dealing with tuition and cash funding were withdrawn without a vote.

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/senate-approves-3-billion-package-of-university-co/nmKL3/

Celebrate the 120th anniversary of Austin’s moonlight towers

Disabled activists blockade Gov. Abbott’s office

Our Jonathan Tilove is covering a situation at the Texas Capitol where disabled activists have been blockading the governor’s office for more than three hours. According to Tilove’s tweets, the activists want Gov. Greg Abbott to direct lawmakers working on the budget to find $480 million to cover a $10 hourly wage for community attendants.

More at link: http://politics.blog.statesman.com/2015/05/19/disabled-activists-blockade-gov-abbotts-office/

Limited medical marijuana bill clears Texas Legislature

AUSTIN — The Texas House gave final approval Tuesday to a limited medical marijuana bill that would give epilepsy patients access to trace amounts of cannabis oil. The next stop is Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, marking a milestone that marijuana-reform advocates say is nothing short of historic in Texas.

The Republican hasn’t said whether he will sign one of the most talked-about measures in his first legislative session as governor. Here’s a closer look at the plan:

———

WHAT DOES IT DO?

The bill allows patients with intractable epilepsy, whose seizures are not controlled by usual treatments, to receive trace amounts of a marijuana plant extract to help treat their seizures. The maximum legal dosage would be so low that it wouldn’t produce the high associated with other parts of marijuana.

The oil could only be obtained with a prescription and would remain off-limits to patients with other medical conditions.

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20150519-limited-medical-marijuana-bill-clears-texas-legislature.ece

Cross-posted in the Texas Group.

Limited medical marijuana bill clears Texas Legislature

AUSTIN — The Texas House gave final approval Tuesday to a limited medical marijuana bill that would give epilepsy patients access to trace amounts of cannabis oil. The next stop is Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, marking a milestone that marijuana-reform advocates say is nothing short of historic in Texas.

The Republican hasn’t said whether he will sign one of the most talked-about measures in his first legislative session as governor. Here’s a closer look at the plan:

———

WHAT DOES IT DO?

The bill allows patients with intractable epilepsy, whose seizures are not controlled by usual treatments, to receive trace amounts of a marijuana plant extract to help treat their seizures. The maximum legal dosage would be so low that it wouldn’t produce the high associated with other parts of marijuana.

The oil could only be obtained with a prescription and would remain off-limits to patients with other medical conditions.

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20150519-limited-medical-marijuana-bill-clears-texas-legislature.ece

Cross-posted in the Cannabis Group.

Judges: State botched fraud case, must pay $400K in fees

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A panel of judges has determined that Texas regulators so badly botched a Medicaid fraud investigation of a dentist that they're responsible for paying the nearly $400,000 in legal fees the dentist incurred.

The decision earlier this month by three administrative law judges was the first time the Health and Human Services Commission's Office of Inspector General was ordered to pay a defendant's legal fees.

The Austin American-Statesman reports (http://atxne.ws/1HoTNpg ) the judges found that none of the violations cited by the inspector general suggested fraud. Instead, errors by the Corpus Christi dentist appeared to have been oversights.

State regulators had confiscated more than $300,000 from the dentist.

The case is another setback for an office heavily criticized for actions that include a $20 million no-bid contract to an Austin company.

http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/state/article_b63a90c8-d53d-5acd-a2ad-4003de236809.html

Van students return to school after a week off due to tornado

VAN – They arrived in borrowed school buses and drank bottled water instead of tap.

They knew counselors were available, in case they needed to talk about the devastation brought by the EF3 tornado that sliced through town a week earlier

But for students returning to the three Van ISD campuses unscathed by the storm, Monday brought a return to some sense of routine.

-snip-

The Texas Education Agency last week approved a waiver to release all Van prekindergarten through third-grade students for the remainder of the school year. Other grades returned to school Monday.

Read more: http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+Local/219780/van-students-return-to-school-after-a-week-off