The Core Blog

In 2015, Texas Appleseed released Suspended Childhood: An Analysis of Exclusionary Discipline of Texas’ Pre-K and Elementary School Students. The first-of-its-kind report quantifies thousands of discretionary suspensions that are given to pre-K through second graders every year. It also points out the disparities in who receives these types of suspensions: Black children, boys, and students with special education needs are pushed out of class at unequal rates compared to their peers. We believe that these

On December 15th, 2016, Texas Appleseed and Texans Care for Children released Dangerous Discipline: How Texas schools are relying on law enforcement, courts, and juvenile probation to discipline students. Data in the report show that students in Texas schools are arrested, sent to adult criminal courts, referred to juvenile probation, and experience use of force incidents at alarming rates, often for relatively minor misbehaviors. Meanwhile, the budget for school security services is often many multiples

In 2010 Texas Appleseed released a groundbreaking report on policing in Texas schools. The report documented the explosive growth in the number of police in schools, prompted in part by the now-discredited narrative of a generation of “super-predators” entering schools and controversial “broken-windows” theories of policing. From the ‘90s to the present day, the number of school resource officers on campus in Texas grew by leaps and bounds. The report showed that school police in

When a loved one deteriorates in health or mental capacity and can no longer manage their own money, we, as family members, often are the ones to step in. But with limited experience, it can be a maze to figure out the right things to do. As part of an effort to prevent elder financial abuse, Texas Appleseed is partnering with AARP Texas to adapt the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Managing Someone Else’s Money series

One our taglines at Texas Appleseed is “Sowing the Seeds of Justice.” And, as any gardener knows, it can take a long time and a lot of work to see those seeds grow and bear fruit. The Michael Morton Act and criminal discovery reform is one example of the persistence we know it takes to achieve real reform. Michael Morton was convicted of the murder of his wife and sentenced to life in prison in

Texas cities are taking the lead — both standing up to predatory payday and auto title lending and encouraging market-based fair loans. In September, Texas Appleseed released a city toolkitto share success stories of local efforts to expand fair lending one community at a time. The Community Loan Center, a homegrown employer-based small loan program, is one of a growing array of positive loan products expanding in Texas. Longview, Texas, is the latest Texas city

We are excited to have Sara Pratt, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs at HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (now with the civil rights law firm of Relman, Dane & Colfax), talk about her perspective Texas' landmark 2010 Conciliation Agreement, which re-directed more funds to Texans hardest hit by the 2008 hurricanes. Moving Toward Fair and Equitable Disaster Recovery Video of Moving Toward Fair and Equitable Disaster Recovery Over the

In March of 2013, I was introduced to the scourge of payday and auto title lending in Texas. I am embarrassed to say that I had been ignorant of this vicious and aggressive predatory industry. Dallas had recently developed a municipal ordinance that some other cities were adopting to do all that could be done apart from state action to protect their citizens. Faith leaders and community nonprofits were banding together with city council members

Texas Appleseed believes that law school should be accessible to all qualified students, so one of our earliest projects was establishing a scholarship to help students of color expand their law school options. The scholarship covers the full cost of a Kaplan (LSAT) prep course, as well as connects students with mentors who are well-established attorneys. With more than 300 scholarships awarded to date, Texas Appleseed caught up with two former recipients — 2013 recipient

After Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, thousands of people lost their homes. But the state of Texas didn’t spend the disaster recovery funds it received in an equitable way. Below is Texas Appleseed board member Allan Van Fleet’s telling of what happened on the Island in the wake of the hurricane, and how Texas Appleseed helped direct disaster recovery funds to the families who needed them most. My grandparents moved to Texas at the turn of

In 2001, Texas Appleseed convened a focus group to determine what problems immigrant communities faced with respect to financial services. One of the main problems that emerged was a lack of transparency in the remittance industry. Fees varied wildly among storefronts, and there was no guarantee that the money would arrive on time, or that the correct amount would be delivered. Appleseed worked with individuals and financial service stakeholders to identify solutions. Next, we wrote

One of Texas Appleseed's major initiatives in 2016 and 2017 is to end the practice of discretionary suspensions of Texas elementary students. Houston ISD led the state by banning suspensions early in 2016, and El Paso ISD followed over the summer. Watch the video to get an overview from some experts (hint: cute kids ahead), or read this reportto get the details. The Core: June 8, 2016 Video of The Core: June 8, 2016