Federal budget deal could free up education funds for Texas

From The Austin American-Statesman: About $830 million in federal education aid could be coming to Texas after budget negotiators in Washington, D.C., agreed to strip out a provision that had held up the money. The $830 million infusion of federal money had been earmarked to save teacher jobs, but a Texas-specific amendment to last year's $10 billion education jobs bill had left the state's share of that money in legal limbo. The amendment was aimed at forcing Texas to hold steady on state education spending over the next two years as it grappled with a gaping shortfall.