The Core Blog

Texas Appleseed is celebrating our 30th anniversary this year! In honor of this milestone, we asked our staff to reflect on their favorite memories and achievements over the last 30 years. And, we take a look ahead to what tech advancements — a mix of amusing and impactful ideas — the next 30 years might bring us. Ann, Director, Fair Financial Services Project Year Started at Texas Appleseed: 1999 Something I’m proud of: When I

With the new school year underway, students, parents, teachers, and faculty are navigating a new public school landscape altered by a number of bills that the Texas Legislature passed earlier this year. As an educator for six years and a current law student, I believe that Senate Bill 12 has a particularly disparate impact on vulnerable families and imposes an additional burden on teachers that restricts our ability to teach effectively. One provision of SB

With over 600,000 job vacancies in Texas and an unemployment rate hovering around just 4% as of June 2025 1, Texas employers are hungry for talent. Yet outdated and inaccurate background checks are quietly sidelining qualified job applicants, creating unnecessary barriers to employment, housing, education, and economic stability. More than 9 million Texans have a criminal record, including many who were arrested but never convicted 2. Today, background checks still often list arrests that resulted

In the weeks since the Guadalupe river and Big Sandy Creek overflowed their banks, support has poured into Central Texas. Volunteers came from across the country, helping with search and rescue, mucking out houses, and supplying resources. Now, as those volunteers have largely returned home, residents are left to figure out how to rebuild after catastrophic loss. As many turn to the FEMA Individuals and Households Program (IHP) — which helps disaster survivors with housing

Texas Appleseed is mourning the loss of life caused by the tragic flooding over the July 4th weekend, along with the rest of Texas. As we were preparing to publish this post, we were tracking new weather threats in the Hill Country, with many of the same communities that previously suffered damage again facing the risk of additional flooding. Our hearts are with the Texas communities that continue to suffer. As a child, my experiences

The official end of the regular legislative session, sine die, occurred on June 2. We know that through the legislative process great strides can be made to improve the lives of Texans. We also know that it can lead to some setbacks and disappointments. In partnership with a number of coalitions, advocacy partners, legislators and staff members, we have bright moments to share about Texas’ 89th legislative session. Below are bills related to our work

Since July 2023, prisons in Texas and across the nation have entered a new era. Students are now eligible to receive Pell Grants to finance their education while incarcerated. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) believes this avenue to funding one’s education could allow an estimated 760,000 new students to become eligible for financial aid. In Texas, over 60,000 individuals currently confined in Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) facilities could now be eligible to

I first heard about the school-to-prison pipeline framework in the class Introduction to Social Work during my first semester at St. Edward’s University. The school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) refers to the policies and practices that push out historically underserved students from their classrooms and toward the juvenile and criminal justice system. I was shocked to learn about this happening in our schools. The next semester, I took an entire course dedicated to exploring the history of

So much of what we do on our mobile phones, online, and through apps is being tracked, captured, and even packaged and sold. These data collection practices can be invasive, compromise personal privacy, and enable scammers. In promising news, Texans were afforded new rights on July 1, 2024, to control their personal data through the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, which covers most businesses that collect our personal information. Under this new law, Texans

Internet de banda ancha es esencial para el desarrollo económico, la educación, la atención médica y para mantenerse conectado en el mundo digital actual. Para muchas comunidades rurales y marginadas de Texas, el acceso a Internet de alta velocidad sigue siendo un desafío, a pesar de los crecientes esfuerzos para cerrar la brecha digital. Con miles de millones en fondos federales dedicados a la expansión de la banda ancha, los tejanos tienen la esperanza de

Broadband internet is essential for economic development, education, health care, and staying connected in today’s digital world. For many rural and underserved communities in Texas, access to high-speed internet remains a challenge, despite increasing efforts to bridge the digital divide. With billions in federal funding dedicated to broadband expansion, Texans are hopeful that these funds will finally pave the way for comprehensive coverage across the state. However, significant barriers still hinder the effective deployment of

On August 26, 2024, Harris County and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that they had entered into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement/Conciliation Agreement that has the potential to make mandatory buyout programs, designed to move families away from environmental risk, more fair for Harris County homeowners. You can read the full agreement here. Since 2022, Texas Appleseed has been conducting a study to understand the impacts of home buyout programs on