Current Articles for December 18, 2025

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.

• Bring back the neocons. By David Brooks. Atlantic Monthly, January 2026, pp. 18-21.
  Provides a historical overview of the origins, leaders, and beliefs of the neoconservative movement. Argues for the return to neoconservatism's three main lessons: character is destiny, value pedestrian virtues, and culture drives history.
  See: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=e36ef545-3603-3db7-bbec-32e068862f5c
  
• Generation AI. Economist, December 6th-12th, 2025, pp. 20-22.
  Discusses various ways children are encountering artificial intelligence (AI) at school and at home.
  See: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/12/04/how-ai-is-rewiring-childhood
  
• How the 'science of reading' can support English learners. By Sarah Schwartz. Education Week, December 2025, pp. 43-47.
  Discusses the "science of reading" movement and how this evidence-based approach to reading instruction can be utilized for the needs of English learners and students in dual-language programs. Highlights Southside Independent School District in San Antonio as an example of an approach to the "science of reading."
  See: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=58d7481f-bfd2-3ab6-b558-5b8b20107964
  
• What is the Classic Learning Test, and why is it popular with conservatives? By Sarah Schwartz. Education Week, December 2025, pp. 34-37.
  Provides a basic explanation of the Classic Learning Test (CLT) and why states are encouraging its use in college admissions instead of SAT or ACT college-entrance exams. Includes a sample question from the SAT and CLT to illustrate the differences.
  See: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=f8dae75b-5035-308f-9572-015efc2ac83c
  
• Severe illnesses after self-injection of botulinum toxin purchased online—New York, Texas, and Wisconsin, 2025. By Liz Lamere, et al. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), November 27, 2025, pp. 593-596.
  Relates details of severe illness caused by self-injection of cosmetic botulinum toxin purchased online. Describes patients from New York, Texas, and Wisconsin. Cautions against self-injection of botulinum toxin.
  See: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/pdfs/mm7438a1-H.pdf
  
• 'He never got to go home': Inside Texas' secretive 'civil commitment' system. By Hallie Lieberman. Reason, December 2025, pp. 22-26, 28-30.
  Reports on problems with Texas' civil commitment system, including cost; effectiveness; and a lack of oversight and transparency. Includes a brief history of civil commitment. Mentions concerns with SB 1610, 89th Legislature, R.S.
  See: https://reason.com/2025/11/03/he-never-got-to-go-home/
  
• Thank this Klansman for your freedom of speech. By Jacob Sullum. Reason, December 2025, pp. 48-55.
  Provides background information for the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1969 opinion in Brandenburg v. Ohio. Considers the Brandenburg test in light of recent events involving free speech and protections under the First Amendment.
  See: https://reason.com/2025/11/08/thank-this-klansman-for-your-freedom-of-speech/
  Related information at: https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep395/usrep395444/usrep395444.pdf
  
• Political persuasion by artificial intelligence. By Lisa P. Argyle. Science, December 15, 2025, pp. 983-984.
  Considers the extent and scope of the ability of artificial intelligence (AI) via generative large language models (LLMs) to influence political opinion. Raises concerns related to misinformation spread by AI.
  See: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aec9293
  
• Texas Education Agency announces state takeovers of three more public school districts. By Meridith Dyer. Texan, December 11, 2025, p. 1.
  Discusses the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) recently announced takeover of Connally, Beaumont, and Lake Worth Independent School Districts (ISDs), due to all three meeting the requirements for a takeover after the release of TEA accountability ratings in August.
  See: https://thetexan.news/issues/education/texas-education-agency-announces-state-takeovers-of-three-mor ...
  
• In Tarrant County, a grassroots coalition pushes back on Christian nationalists. By Edward Brown. Texas Observer, November 25, 2025, p. 1.
  Discusses a grassroots movement in Tarrant County dedicated to fighting back against recent efforts by three Republican commissioners to consolidate power through precinct-level redistricting. Profiles some of the activists working on the issue, including community organizer Chris Tackett; Tarrant4Change co-founder Alexander Montalvo; and others, and outlines their work in pushing back on what they see as overreach.
  See: https://www.texasobserver.org/tarrant-county-redistricting-grassroots-pushback/
  
• Peering into the Rio Grande Valley’s fossil fuel future. By Gaige Davila. Texas Observer, December 15, 2025, p. 1.
  Discusses the project to create a large new liquified natural gas (LNG) facility near Brownsville, Texas, noting that it will be the first of its kind in the area. Examines the arguments for the facility—potential job creation, environmental sensitivity, and a negligible effect on tourism—as well as the concerns of locals who say it will threaten the existing ecotourism and fishing industries.
  See: https://www.texasobserver.org/the-valley-fossil-fuel-future-freeport-louisiana/