Texas has the sixth highest incarceration rate in the nation and the most prisoners (147,000) of any state, about half of whom are nonviolent offenders. However, since 2005 when the state began strengthening probation and other alternatives to incarceration, the state’s incarceration rate has fallen more than 20%. During this same period, Texas’ crime rate has dropped more than 30%, reaching its lowest level since 1967.
Higher Education
Safe Schools and Fair Standards
Safe Schools and Fair Standards Key points: Texas’s higher education code is not aligned with Supreme Court precedent on the correct standards for defining harassment. Texas statute does not define what makes conduct “severe,” “persistent,” or “pervasive.” The existing legal framework should remain intact but needs updated definitions that protect both free speech and students...
September 28, 2026