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TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
TEXAS
Zapata County ISD meets minimum standards
More forms of ID OK’d
All local schools pass state rating system, which will change next year By Will Weissert A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
Nearly 94 percent of districts and around 84 percent of public schools in Texas met minimum education standards, officials announced Monday, in the final incarnation of an academic rating system that next year will be replaced with letter grades between A and F. Zapata County Independent
School District as a whole as well as all of its campuses received a rating of “met standard.” However, ZCISD failed in the Student Achievement category, scoring a 59; a passing score is 60. Their Student Progress rating made up for that, though. ZCISD scored a 36; the minimum score to pass is 22. Each public and charter Schools continues on A11
Voters to have more options THE ZAPATA TIME S
Danny Zaragoza / The Zapata Times
Zapata High School is shown in this July photo. Zapata High School met standards in the TEA’s most recent school rating system.
TEXAS
HURRICANE SEASON
Pu Ying Huang / The Texas Tribune
Drivers attempt to cross the floodwaters on Highway 59 in Houston on April 18.
State’s disaster fund drained from earlier events By Julián Aguilar TH E T E XAS T RIBUNE
As Texas takes on another hurricane season, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office has nearly committed all of the 2016-17 emergency funds reserved for state disaster recovery efforts in the aftermath of floods and other natural disasters. And Abbott’s staffers are pointing the finger at state budget writers, who allotted nearly $50 million less in general revenue for disaster relief than what Abbott’s office had asked for ahead of the 2015 legislative session. The issue came to light in a letter from Abbott’s office to
Harris County lawmakers, dated June 30, when the governor denied their request for funds from the Disaster and Deficiency Grants program after severe flooding in that part of the state. “Despite numerous conversations with representatives from both the House and Senate, the final budget for this biennium appropriated a net amount of just $14.8 million to the Disaster and Deficiency Grants program,” Deputy Chief of Staff Robert Allen wrote in the letter. “In the end, the Disaster Fund was appropriated $48.5 million less than the Governor’s Office requested.” The request from Harris County came as Texas had been Hurricane continues on A11
Texas Secretary of State Carlos H. Cascos announced last Wednesday that voters will have additional options when presenting ID at the polls for the November election. “In elections this fall, Texas voters who cannot obtain one of the seven forms of approved photo ID will have additional options when casting their ballots,” Cascos said. “My agency is working to make sure Texans know about these changes and that all qualified voters are ready to cast a ballot.” As provided by a court order issued Wednesday, if a voter is not able to obtain one of the seven forms of approved photo ID, the voter may vote by signing a declaration at the polls explaining why the voter is unable to obtain one of the seven forms of approved photo ID, and providing one of various forms of supporting documentation. Supporting documentation can be a certified birth certificate (must be an original), a valid voter registration certificate, a copy or original of one of the following: current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter, although government documents which include a photo must be original and cannot be copies. If a voter meets these requirements and is otherwise eligible to vote, the voter will be able to cast a regular ballot in the election. The seven forms of approved photo ID are: 1 Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety 1 Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS 1 Texas personal identification card issued by DPS 1 Texas license to carry a handgun issued by DPS 1 United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph 1 United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph 1 United States passport With the exception of the U.S. Voters continues on A11
MEXICO
Authorities say ‘El Chapo’s son among those abducted at resort By Mark Stevenson ASSOCIATED PRE SS
David Diaz / AP
The entrance of the restaurant "La Leche" stands closed after armed men abducted as many as 16 people who were dining in the upscale restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Monday.
MEXICO CITY — One of the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is among the half-dozen men abducted by gunmen at a restaurant in the Mexican beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, authorities said Tuesday.
Jalisco state Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer said 29-year-old Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar had been determined to be among those taken, though authorities still had not received any missing person complaints. “The person by the name of Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, age 29, is the son of Joaquin
Guzman Loera,” Almaguer said at a news conference. His abduction “has been confirmed by what was found in the vehicles and what security agencies found and the forensic examinations performed.” Earlier in the day, Almaguer had said authorities were trying to confirm whether anothMexico continues on A11