Current Articles for September 05, 2024

The Legislative Reference Library produces a weekly list of current journal articles for members of the legislative community. Each week, librarians select and abstract articles of interest to the legislature from the latest issues of over 300 journals, newsletters, state documents, and trade publications. Electronic copies of the Current Articles list are distributed to legislative offices each Thursday.

The Legislative Reference Library is located on the second floor of the State Capitol building in Room 2N.3. For more information, please call the Library at 512-463-1252.

• Project 2025 proposes eliminating aid for families and businesses rebuilding after storms. By David Ballard. Center for American Progress, August 8, 2024, pp. 1-5.
  Reports on the Project 2025 proposal to eliminate the Small Business Administration's (SBA) disaster loan program. Provides statistics on how SBA lending after disasters affects Gulf Coast states, focusing specifically on Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.
  See: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/project-2025-proposes-eliminating-aid-for-families-and-busi ...
  
• 1 in 3 college applicants used AI for essay help. Did they cheat? By Alyson Klein. Education Week, August 14, 2024, pp. 10-11.
  Discusses student use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology for college admission essays. Contemplates the ethics of using AI versus having the financial means to hire an admissions coach.
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=179007958&site=ehost-live
  See: https://www.edweek.org/technology/1-in-3-college-applicants-used-ai-for-essay-help-did-they-cheat/20 ...
  
• Here's why more students have passed AP exams in recent years. By Ileana Najarro. Education Week, August 22, 2024, pp. 4-5.
  Describes the methodology the College Board used to recalibrate grading for Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Discusses the benefits the recalibration has had for students and teachers.
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=179154915&site=ehost-live
  See: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/heres-why-more-students-have-passed-ap-exams-in-recent-year ...
  
• The role of state education regulation: Evidence from the Texas Districts of Innovation statute. By Kylie Anglin. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, September 2024, pp. 534-554.
  Examines whether classification as a Texas District of Innovation increases a school district's ability to improve student learning. Concludes that deregulation alone does not improve student performance.
• First human implant of new artificial heart. By Jishnu Nair. Houston Business Journal, August 2-8, 2024, p. 10.
  Describes the first successful implantation of a new model of artificial heart into a human patient, which took place at the Texas Heart Institute, part of Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, in July 2024. Adds that the procedure came after nearly twenty years of research as part of a study authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Notes that Baylor is no stranger to artificial heart technology, as it was also the site of the first-ever successful heart transplant in 1968.
  See: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/inno/stories/inno-insights/2024/07/25/baylor-first-artificial-he ...
  
• Legislator seeks clarity on Texas Children's contract. By Jishnu Nair. Houston Business Journal, August 16-22, 2024, p. 24.
  Discusses financial difficulties at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, which recently led to more than 1,000 job cuts. Notes that Representative James Frank, chair of the Texas House Committee on Human Services, is seeking to investigate the state Health and Human Services Commission's decision to award several contracts for the Texas Medicaid STAR and Children's Health Insurance programs.
  See: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2024/08/09/james-frank-texas-childrens-star-chip-contract.h ...
  
• Including family child care in pre-k systems: An update at the local level. By GG Weisenfeld and Erin Harmeyer. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), August 2024, pp. 1-19.
  Examines ties between publicly-funded pre-kindergarten programs and family child care (FCC) programs in 75 major cities. Provides recommendations on how cities can implement such programs to support more children.
  See: https://nieer.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/nieer-fcc-prek-update.pdf
  
• Infant mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the period linked birth/infant death file. By Danielle M. Ely and Anne K. Driscoll. National Vital Statistics Report, August 22, 2024, pp. 1-19.
  Presents infant mortality data from 2022. Includes the infant mortality rate by state.
  See: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr73/nvsr73-05.pdf
  
• The infiltrators. By David Kirkpatrick. New Yorker, August 26, 2024, pp. 36-42, 43-49.
  Discusses the rise of fascist militias such as Patriot Front in the U.S. and the human toll of their far-right activism. Presents examples of people and organizations who are using undercover tactics to expose far-right and domestic terrorist groups.
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=179050606&site=ehost-live
  See: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/08/26/infiltrating-the-far-right
  
• Federal court judge bans Biden administration LNG export pause, immediate impact unclear. By Cathy Landry. Oil and Gas Journal, August-September 2024, pp. 10, 12.
  Summarizes the ruling issued in State of Louisiana, et al. v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., et al..
  Related information at: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.205090/gov.uscourts.lawd.205090.72.0.pdf
  
• New data indicates 50,000 public school students withdraw to homeschool each year. By Mary Elise Cosgray. Texan, September 3, 2024, pp. 1-2.
  Highlights new data collected by the Texas Home School Coalition, showing that Harris County ranks first with the highest number of withdrawals from public school to homeschooling, followed by Bexar, Tarrant, Denton, and Dallas counties.
  Related information at: https://policy.thsc.org/
  See: https://thetexan.news/issues/education/new-data-indicates-50-000-public-school-students-withdraw-to- ...
  
• Texas Speaker Dade Phelan announces school choice support, other priorities after new chief of staff hire. By Brad Johnson. Texan, August 28, 2024, pp. 1-2.
  Reports on the hiring of Speaker of the House Dade Phelan's new chief of staff Mike Toomey and the Speaker's policy priorities outlined last week.
  See: https://thetexan.news/state/legislature/texas-state-house-news/texas-speaker-dade-phelan-announces-s ...
  
• Hernandez v. Texas at 70: Honoring the legal team behind the landmark case. By Dori Contreras, et al. Texas Bar Journal, September 2024, pp. 591-593.
  Looks back at the U.S. Supreme Court case of Hernandez v. Texas (1954), which found that 14th Amendment protections extended to Mexican-American citizens. Highlights the members of the legal team who worked on the case, including Gustavo "Gus" Garcia; Carlos Cadena; John J. Herrera; and Judge James De Anda.
  Related information at: https://blogs.loc.gov/law/files/2014/05/Chief-Justice-Warren-opinion.pdf
  See: https://lsc-pagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=828449&p=30&view=issueViewer
  
• The education of Mike Miles. By Andrea White. Texas Monthly, September 2024, pp. 84-95.
  Traces the career history of Mike Miles, the new superintendent of Houston ISD, who was hired in the wake of the state's takeover of the district. Highlights the controversies that have erupted in HISD since the takeover, including the firing of several principals and an exodus of teachers and students.
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=178981603&site=ehost-live
  See: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/mike-miles-houston-isd-takeover/