Angry parents, advocates urge federal action on state’s special ed cap

After a week of testimony from parents, educators, advocates and special-needs students, the ante was upped when dozens packed a government service center in Austin on Thursday and demanded action on Texas’ cap on special education that they say has unlawfully harmed thousands of disabled children and should be investigated. Some urged federal officials to bring criminal charges against the Texas Education Agency. The “listening sessions” were launched in response to a Houston Chronicle investigation that revealed the TEA arbitrarily decided in 2004 that only about 8.5 percent of students should get special education services such as counseling, tutoring and therapy.

Judge blocks rules requiring burial of fetal remains

A federal judge on Thursday blocked Texas rules mandating burial or cremation of fetal remains that were set to go into effect within days. The ruling by Austin-based U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks begins the latest legal battle for a state whose tough anti-abortion laws were largely struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer. The Center for Reproductive Rights and other national advocacy groups sued to prevent Texas from requiring hospitals and clinics to bury or cremate fetal remains from abortions or miscarriages rather than disposing of them in a sanitary landfill, as they often currently do with such remains and other biological medical waste. The rules were to take effect on Dec. 19. The lawsuit argues that the rules serve no medical purpose and are meant to shame women who seek abortions and make it harder for doctors to perform them.

Layoffs, research cutbacks on table as MD Anderson runs up $111 million deficit

MD Anderson Cancer Center officials are taking urgent steps, including the possibility of layoffs, to cut expenses and boost revenue after three straight months of operating losses caused a deficit of more than $111 million in the first quarter of the 2017 fiscal year. The ambitious Moon Shots cancer research program could face cutbacks as well. Cancer center leaders plan to shrink their 20,000-member staff through attrition while asking employees to limit travel and other nonessential expenses. MD Anderson’s fiscal woes began last April but have also been linked to the downturn of oil prices.

Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle Chris Crowley struggles to talk about his issues at school. His mother Camilyn Marceaux, right, also spoke to the representatives from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the Texas Education...

Ilana Panich-Linsman / New York Times Texas approved new rules requiring facilities that perform abortions to bury the fetal remains instead of disposing of them in a sanitary landfill, which would go into effect on Dec. 19. An Austin federal judge blocked the rule.