News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Police get new rules on excited delirium

Dallas: Policy calls for ambulance for highly agitated suspects

By MARGARITA MARTÌN-HIDALGO / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - For years, Dallas police Sgt. David Welch didn't know why a man he arrested for stealing meat died suddenly.

The man became belligerent and tried punching the former patrol officer. Sgt. Welch recalls that the man was sweating and breathing heavily.

"He was begging me to rip his shirt off. He was overheating."

On the drive to the jail, the man was talkative and alert. Then he passed out and died.

That was about 20 years ago.

The medical examiner blamed the death on an overdose of a heroin derivative. But Sgt. Welch now has another theory: He thinks the man suffered from excited delirium, a severe chemical imbalance often caused by drug use that can leave agitated people dead within minutes of police intervention.

Last week, the Dallas Police Department implemented new policies designed to prevent deaths caused by the condition, which law enforcement agencies and emergency medical personnel are only now coming to fully understand. Officers will call for a supervisor and an ambulance every time they suspect a person is in a state of excited delirium, which is typically caused by cocaine or methamphetamine use.

"From a medical, safety and liability standpoint, we want him going to an ambulance," Assistant Chief Daniel Garcia said. "It just makes sense. You don't want police to transport someone if they require medical attention."

Drug users suffering from an episode may have accelerated heart rates and body temperatures of over 100 degrees. Many are overweight and become violent and erratic, jumping through windows and running about wildly.

Hallucinations of bugs crawling on the skin and paranoia also are common symptoms.

Research on the symptoms and the causes of excited delirium dates to the mid-1800s, but for years it was associated with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. During the surge of cocaine use in the 1980s, medical authorities began to notice similar behavioral patterns among cocaine addicts and, later, methamphetamine users, said a Bexar County medical examiner who's done extensive research on the topic.

The label "excited delirium" has been used increasingly by medical examiners in the last 10 years, although few medical examiners have begun keeping track of how many deaths are related to such cases.

Dr. Vincent Di Maio, the chief medical examiner at the Bexar County office in San Antonio, said about 90 percent of individuals who suffer from excited delirium are cocaine or methamphetamine users. Between 5 percent and 10 percent of people who experience the condition suffer from mental illness.

Records from the Bexar County medical examiner's office show that between 1997 and 2005, excited delirium contributed to the deaths of about 30 people, about half of them cocaine users.

Dallas has not kept track of the number of excited delirium cases, but at least three recent deaths have been attributed in part to the condition, including that of Jose Romero, 23, who died in Dallas police custody in April. Mr. Romero's autopsy report also said that cocaine intoxication and electrical shock from a Taser gun were contributing factors.

Though cocaine and meth users are high when they lapse into excited delirium, Dr. Di Maio said, they are not overdosing, but rather have a sudden change in behavior caused by long-term drug use.

"Essentially, they're putting out tremendous amounts of adrenaline," said Dr. Di Maio, who with his wife, Teresa Di Maio, a registered nurse, published a book on the subject last year. "This is all hitting the heart."

Most people who suffer from excited delirium survive, he said, but cocaine and methamphetamine users "have a greater tendency to die."

The risk increases when drug users struggle with police officers trying to restrain them because they're pumping more adrenaline into their heart.

Police have one main concern: What can officers do to safely restrain someone suffering from excited delirium?

Not much, medical experts say.

Once the person has become delirious, "that's a cooked brain at that point," said Dr. Deborah Mash, a neurology professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

There's no way police officers can properly diagnose the condition or determine whether the person is at risk of dying from it, said Dr. Mash, who also has done research on the subject. She said medical researchers are trying to establish whether there is a genetic predisposition to the condition.

Still, Dr. Mash said police officers trying to restrain such individuals "do the best they can, and I think they do."

Dr. Di Maio said officers should avoid struggling with unruly people and instead calm them down before restraining them. When that doesn't work, he suggested officers use a Taser gun. Pepper spray won't help subdue people in a state of excited delirium, he said.

"You don't want to fight for 20 minutes," he said, adding that such people should be taken to a hospital for treatment, not jailed.

Sgt. Welch, a defense tactics instructor at the Dallas Police Department, said the more officers know about excited delirium, the better. "That's the name of the game: safety."

Staff writer Tanya Eiserer contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Hospitalized smoker burns room, is hurt

DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - A patient wearing an oxygen mask lit a cigarette and ignited a fire Thursday that charred his room at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, fire officials said.

The man suffered significant burns and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, said Kim Hollon, an executive vice president of the Methodist Health System.

The fire broke out about 7:45 p.m. on the hospital's 10th floor and forced 114 patients to move. No one besides the man was seriously hurt.

"He somehow got the strength to smoke a cigarette with a nonremovable [oxygen] mask," said Dallas Fire-Rescue Capt. Paul Martinez.

"I don't know how he did it, but he did it."

The automatic sprinkler in the room prevented the blaze from becoming a larger emergency, Capt. Martinez said.

A nurse quickly pulled the patient from his burning bed. Nearby machinery melted.

"The fire would have advanced to the hallway horizontally and then vertically. Instead of eight or nine alarms, it was just two alarms," Capt. Martinez said. "Everything worked like it was supposed to."

[TexasStooge]

Sheriff's office defends victim notification after escape

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas County Sheriff's office said they are defending how they notified a crime victim she was in danger after her ex-boyfriend who attacked her escaped from custody.

Dallas County belongs to the Vine system, which stands for Victim Information and Notification Everyday. The Vine system is a state-run phone service that informs crime victims of any changes regarding a jailed offender.

More than 171,000 victims belong statewide, and more than 70,000 of those live in North Texas.

But one Grand Prairie woman who participates in the system said it took a dangerously long time before she was notified that her ex-boyfriend, Ray Morales, escaped from police custody after walking out of Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Morales was originally placed in jail after they charged him with setting her home on fire and smashing his truck into her garage.

While deputies caught Morales the day after his escape, his ex-girlfriend said it was enough time for fear to set in. She also said too much time had passed before she heard the news.

Morales escaped at 8:50 p.m. that night and the private security guard watching him called the sheriff's department at 9:15 p.m. p.m. However, the sheriff's department didn't enter the information into the Vine computer until 10:45 p.m., which was after they sent deputies to the hospital to confirm the escape.

"I said, 'It was 11:00 p.m. when I received the phone call,'" the ex-girlfriend said. "Do you know that this guy could have killed me?

However, the sheriff's department said they operated correctly under the Vine System regulations.

"We have to follow the procedures on the steps," said Deputy Raul Reyna, Dallas County Sheriff's spokesman. "And there are certain steps that we have to take, one of those being that we have to verify and confirm the information."

The department said they will review if they were too slow in informing Morales' ex of his escape.

"I want them to find me right away," she said. "I want to be able to protect myself."

[TexasStooge]

Northwest Highway wall gains momentum

University Park: City closing streets, coming up with project design

By KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas - Jim Doster doesn't want to keep anyone out of University Park. He just wants some peace and quiet and less trash strewn into his front yard.

That's why he's glad the city is closer to building the wall along Northwest Highway that he first proposed at least five years ago.

Construction is about six months away, but to prepare for the project, the city last week closed two sections of Northwest Parkway to through traffic. The city also asked Dallas to shut off its traffic light at Hillcrest Avenue and Northwest Parkway.

Northwest Parkway runs adjacent to Northwest Highway between Pickwick Lane and Boedeker Street. A median separates the two roads.

The 10-foot-tall wall will run from Turtle Creek Boulevard east to Airline Road. The final design hasn't been determined, but early designs resemble the Tuscan-style wall bordering University Park along Central Expressway and the Dallas North Tollway.

Bud Smallwood, University Park's public works director, said the project has taken this long because it involves many parties. Requiring homeowners along the half-mile stretch to donate part of their front yards to the city complicated the process.

"Now, we're finally working on the actual design of the wall," Mr. Smallwood said.

Before construction can begin, the city must finalize the design and replace the water main that runs along Northwest Parkway.

Mr. Smallwood said the city expects to replace the water main in the next few months and start building the wall in January. The project will take about a year to complete, he said.

Several Northwest Parkway residents are looking forward to being able to use their front yards more freely.

"Those people with kids are going to have just a great relief of just being able to let their kids out the front door," said resident Iris Bradley. "Whenever there was a wreck on Northwest Highway, people would cut through there like it was Northwest Highway."

Mr. Doster said the project also would make Coffee Park, at the southwest corner of Hillcrest and Northwest Parkway, more attractive for families. The park is "underutilized because it's so exposed," he said.

Homeowners along the affected stretch of roadway aren't the only ones waiting to see the project unfold.

Bob Bartley, who lives several blocks west of the planned wall, is considering launching a community effort to extend it another half-mile or so west to Tulane Boulevard so that every home along Northwest Parkway will be more secluded.

He said a handful of neighbors had expressed interest during the last year.

"I'm certainly hopeful that the others will be," he said. "To me, giving up 14 feet of frontage for a 10-foot wall is a small price to pay. We'll see truck tops, but we won't see the cars."

[TexasStooge]

A tongue-flying twist for kids

By LEE POWELL / The Dallas Morning News

FRISCO, Texas – "PickyPretzelPeoplePickPretzel PerfectPretzels!"

Say it fast.

Kids by the dozens lined up Thursday afternoon at Frisco's Stonebriar Centre to give their mouths a whirl.

They got some coaching from Fran Capo, proclaimed by the Guinness Book of Records as the "Fastest Talking Female."

Her technique for terrific terms tumbling off tongues?

"Youhavetobeabletohaveyour breathingdown,youhavetobeable totalkfast,youhavetobeableto enunciate,andofcourseyou'vegot tobeunderstandable.Peoplegot tounderstandwhatyou'resaying. Youcan'tjustbevlahvlahhvlahvlah vlah.You'vegottobeabletosaythe wordscorrectly," Ms. Capo said in a steady stream before her voice slowed to a crawl. "So ... just ... practice ... over ... and ... over ... again."

From contestants: Gasps. Groans. Giggles. Good takes. False starts.

Youngsters' tongues got about as tied as the pretzels hawked nearby at Auntie Anne's, which sponsored the contest for youths 6 to 12.

"PickyPretzelPeoplePickPretzelPerfectPretzels!"

Entries were judged for pronouncing prowess in the national competition. The grand prize is a $2,500 scholarship, a shopping spree and pretzels for a year. Winners will be determined later.

[TexasStooge]

Inquiry widens for teacher accused of sex assault

Police search cold cases in Huntsville area for links to Arlington man

By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News

ARLINGTON, Texas – Law enforcement officials around Huntsville are researching unsolved cases to determine whether a sexual assault suspect from Arlington might be linked to crimes in southeast Texas.

Huntsville police Detective Ken Foulch said he's searching databases of cold-case sexual assaults from the mid- to late 1990s to see whether any might lead to Nicholas Wilborn. Arlington police arrested the Duncanville High School math teacher Monday and charged him with aggravated sexual assault, burglary and two attempted burglaries with intent to commit sexual assault.

"Right now, we are on a report-finding search," Detective Foulch said.

Mr. Wilborn was a student at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville from 1994 to 1998 and continued living in Huntsville after graduation, Detective Foulch said. Also, he said, university records show that Mr. Wilborn lived on campus for at least some of the time he was in school.

So far, no cases in the Huntsville area have been linked to Mr. Wilborn, but police agencies, with the help of the Texas Rangers, are combing their records.

Arlington detectives also are trying to determine whether to charge Mr. Wilborn with other crimes in neighborhoods near his east Arlington home. Police said three sexual assaults and five burglaries since last year may have been committed by the same person.

Mr. Wilborn, who is being held in the Tarrant County Jail in lieu of $550,000 bail, declined a request for an interview Thursday. There was no answer at the home he shares with his wife and children.

Lt. Blake Miller, an Arlington police spokesman, said the investigation of Mr. Wilborn would not be finished quickly.

"A bunch of investigators weren't sleeping well knowing that he was out there," Lt. Miller said about the weeks leading up to Mr. Wilborn's arrest.

Now that Mr. Wilborn is in jail, there will be plenty of time to investigate other unsolved cases, Lt. Miller said.

Capt. Kevin Morris of the Sam Houston State University Police Department said investigators are researching one unsolved sexual assault from the late 1990s for possible connections to Mr. Wilborn.

In 1999, a female student was grabbed from behind by a jogger who claimed to have a knife. He began fondling her but was "scared away" and fled on foot, Capt. Morris said.

Detective Foulch said he has e-mailed or called former Huntsville investigators who worked sex crime cases during the 1990s to see whether any suspect descriptions fit Mr. Wilborn. If any cases appear to match, police officials plan to use DNA testing to confirm the link.

Police have already used such testing to charge Mr. Wilborn with the September sexual assault of an Arlington woman.

In that case, a man broke into the woman's home and threatened to kill her 3-year-old son if she didn't cooperate, according to police records. The attacker also threatened the woman with a knife and videotaped her.

Duncanville school district officials said the superintendent was preparing a letter that would be sent to all Duncanville High School parents notifying them of the arrest. Mr. Wilborn had taught ninth-grade math there since 2004; before that, he was a teacher in the Cedar Hill school district.

The Duncanville district has placed Mr. Wilborn on administrative leave pending the outcome of the police investigation.

Police officials in Duncanville and Grand Prairie, where Mr. Wilborn previously lived, said he is not a suspect in any of their unsolved cases.

Lt. Miller said that Arlington detectives have not linked Mr. Wilborn to any crimes at the schools where he taught.

"There is no indication that this crossed over into his teaching, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened," he said.

Staff writer Herb Booth contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Suspicious powder closes Rowlett post office

ROWLETT, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - The Rowlett post office was closed Friday morning while health officials worked to identify a powdery substance that spilled out of some mail into processing machinery.

The Rowlett Fire Department hazardous materials squad responded to the 911 call at 9:01 a.m. and requested assistance from the Garland Health Department in identifying the substance.

The post office was evacuated as a precaution and remained closed while tests were conducted. Technicians said initial indications were that the powder was not dangerous.

Other than one postal worker who requested a medical examination at a private clinic, no health problems were reported.

A series of anthrax attacks through the mail in 2001 resulted in five deaths.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas descriptions filled with cynicism

By Jacquielynn Floyd / The Dallas Morning News

Is Dallas ungovernable?

It's a pretty dramatic proposition: ungovernable. Unmanageable, impossible to lead, ultimately unlivable. We've got problems, but they can't be that bad, can they?

A lot of people think they are, and I have heard from dozens in the last couple of days. They wrote in response to a column I wrote Tuesday saying that the city is locked in an outdated political stalemate, ostensibly between white, wealthy North Dallas and a poor, mostly minority southern sector.

There's a lot more to Dallas than those two camps, but if all you had to go by was our political discourse, you'd never know it.

I'm not alone in this belief. There seems to be a deep vein of frustration out there among people who love Dallas a lot but are weary to the bone of hearing the same old arguments between the same old players at City Hall.

"I do not know who, in their right mind, would want to be mayor of Dallas these days," said one longtime resident. "You have City Council members trying to micromanage city departments ... it's the same situation with DISD."

One resident who lived outside the city between 1999 and 2004 said that on his return, he thought things had taken a sharp turn for the worse:

"Prior to moving, I thought Dallas was a great city. But I can tell you that Dallas is a second- or third-rate city at best," he said. "It will take a near miracle to turn it around."

And there's this blunt statement from a lifelong resident: "This town makes the top ten list of 'hopeless' towns and cities. You know it, and I know it and so does everyone else."

Those are painful sentiments to read, reflective of a dead-end cynicism that has given up hope of ever seeing change. Sadly, I heard from many people who think this way – they're so fed up that they have adopted the hard armor of angry indifference.

More than a few blame the 14-1 City Council structure. Originally intended to correct decades of deliberate exclusion and ensure fair representation, they say, the system has devolved into chaos.

Wrote one former member of the City Council: "It's sad that with all the analysis about Mayor [Laura] Miller's decision not to seek another term, no one has dared to mention that the city's court-imposed 14-1 system has made Dallas virtually ungovernable."

There it is again, that word – ungovernable.

One writer expects Dallas to become "another Detroit or Washington, D.C., " plagued by racial strife between poor minorities living in slums and rich whites walled in behind their gated enclaves. Everybody else, he predicts, is headed for the suburbs, if they haven't fled already.

I honestly don't think pessimism this harsh reflects absolute reality. But it ought to be a splash of ice water in the face of those already in or who aspire to positions of leadership.

A few writers suggested that they're still holding out hope for another strong-mayor election, one that might have a better chance of passing without Ms. Miller's polarizing presence.

"Now that we know Dallas will have a new mayor wouldn't this be the time?" one man asked. "A lot of what I heard was not [opponents] voting against the idea, but they did not want Laura Miller to have it."

Maybe that's a possibility. Maybe there really is a leader out there who can break through the bickering mistrust and launch a new political era.

"I think racial divisiveness is out of date," wrote one Oak Cliff resident whose message, while sober, hinted at a buoyant note of optimism. "I'm hoping for the appearance of another new player whose leadership will defy the simpleminded stereotypes."

One choleric writer ridiculed me for saying that "Dallas isn't a terrible place," but I think most of us don't really believe it is.

Perhaps the most realistic assessment came from a Dallas native who has been living out-of-state for years but is getting ready to come home, despite some reservations.

"Dallas has immeasurable potential," he wrote. "But until the city as a whole wakes up, none of it will be realized."

[TexasStooge]

Toll workers recount close calls

By MARY ANN RAZZUK / WFAA ABC 8

Sedelia Ware said speeders keep her on her toes while working as a toll collector in North Texas tollbooths. Careless drivers have also trashed, mangled and caused damage to booths and cars.

"See this taxicab driving through at a high rate of speed?" she said while watching a car fly through a toll. "The booth shakes. They go through so fast you jump out the way."

Ware said she has experienced the fear of a close call many times. She has a vivid memory of one driver's dangerous search for change.

"[He] looked down to get money and he flipped," she said. "He hit the barrier and his vehicle flipped right in front of our booth. I mean, I have come to tears because of how close the experience has been."

In another incident, a truck took out three tollbooths after it crashed at the Wycliff exit in Dallas. All the booths were unoccupied at the time.

Drivers in a hurry have also found themselves in trouble on the tollway. Two drivers literally sandwiched their pickup trucks between booths after they raced to the same lane—and both lost.

"The picture shows them crammed in there, and they can't even get out of their cars because the doors are smashed between two toll plazas," said North Texas Tollway Authority spokeswoman Donna Huerta.

Because of the rising numbers of accidents, tollway planners have fortified toll booths to protect workers. They put up barriers between express and cash lanes to prevent drivers from making last-minute decisions to cross over.

They also added collapsible barriers to slow cars down and lessen the impact of a crash.

Ware said she hopes drivers become more aware of the lives inside the booths.

"You have to slow down and think about us in the booth," she said. "We're someone's mother. We're someone's daughter. We have families that care about us and we care about ourselves, and we want to get back home safe."

[TexasStooge]

Changes to Texas congressional map proposed

AUSTIN, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) - The state's proposal to fix an unconstitutional Texas congressional district drastically rearranges voting lines in a region stretching from Austin to El Paso and Laredo, but has little effect on the partisan makeup of the Texas delegation this election year.

The state's plan is one of several being submitted to a federal court Friday, which must determine the voting lines to be used in the November election.

Texas' Republican leaders were mindful not to hurt the GOP's majority in the U.S. House by ensuring their party's incumbents don't end up in competitive races.

The districts must be redrawn because the U.S. Supreme Court declared the district a violation of the Voting Rights Act. The high court agreed with minority activists who said Hispanic voting strength had been diluted when Laredo, which is 94 percent Hispanic, was split into two congressional districts.

Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz said the state's plan "would correct the Supreme Court's legal concerns ... and otherwise fully respect the legislative preferences of the already enacted congressional map.

"It leaves 28 congressional districts completely untouched," he said.

The biggest shake up in the state's suggested map would be in Austin. The hometown of longtime Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett would shift into a district now represented by Rep. Lamar Smith, a San Antonio Republican.

The change could pit Smith against Doggett on the ballot. Doggett also could choose to run in his current district, even though if the state's plan is accepted, it wouldn't include Austin.

Travis County, which contains Austin and is one of the most liberal counties in Texas, could end up split among three Republican districts with a majority of voters in that district in other counties.

Austin Democratic strategist Ed Martin said the map "unnecessarily shreds Travis County and the city of Austin," which he said is not necessary to remedy the Voting Rights Act problems.

In South Texas, the state's plan would put Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo in the vast west and south Texas district that is now represented by Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla of San Antonio, if he chooses to run in his home county. That West Texas district was declared unconstitutional.

A new district would be created in Blanco, Kendall and Kerr County, allowing Bonilla to run in a Republican-friendly Hill Country area.

The federal panel has scheduled oral arguments for Aug. 3 in Austin.

The League of United Latin American Citizens proposed to make seven of the state's 32 congressional districts majority Hispanic, including the unconstitutional West Texas district.

Both LULAC proposals, like the state's plan, would put the city of Laredo back into one congressional district: One proposal puts it in the district represented by Bonilla; the other would put it in the district now represented by Cuellar.

Putting all of Laredo back into the West Texas district in LULAC's plan could pit Bonilla against Cuellar.

An attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which successfully argued the problems with Bonilla's district, said its proposed map, which also shifts the Hispanic population of Webb County, did not tackle politics, though the redistricting process is traditionally one of the most politically charged issues lawmakers take up.

"Our map was aimed at meeting the mandate of the Supreme Court, thereby protecting the rights of Latinos, not protecting any political party or any political calculations," said MALDEF attorney Luis Figueroa. "We were focused on ... protecting those Latinos whose rights were infringed by the previous map."

The high court did not set a deadline for a new map, but changes would have to be made soon in time for the November general election.

The GOP-controlled Legislature redrew the map in 2003 to put more Republicans in office.

Democrats and minority groups sued the state, accusing Republicans of an unconstitutional power grab in drawing boundaries that booted four Democrats from office. The district boundaries were effective for the 2004 congressional elections.

[TexasStooge]

Eastbound 183 at Valley View to close Sunday

From The Dallas Morning News Staff

The Texas Department of Transportation will close all eastbound lanes of Airport Freeway at Valley View Lane from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The closure is for the installation of concrete panels for a bridge deck on State Highway 161. Eastbound traffic will exit at Valley View Lane and use the frontage road. Motorists can re-enter the freeway after Esters Road. Law enforcement officers and flaggers will assist in directing traffic.

Work will be postposed in the event of inclement weather.
_____________________________________________________________

ALSO ONLINE:

Dallas/Ft. Worth Traffic Reports from Traffic Pulse

[TexasStooge]

Bats in belfry? Try stranger in her attic

By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Almost immediately after Rebecca Peña moved into her house in Old East Dallas last month, strange things began to happen.

The chandelier would rattle. Once, when she was playing dominoes, she saw water begin to slosh – Jurassic Park-like – in a glass. She heard footsteps at night.

A family member suggested it was ghosts, but Ms. Peña was skeptical.

"I said, 'No, man, the footsteps are too heavy for ghosts,' " said Ms. Peña , 25, manager of a dry-cleaning business.

She thought it was more likely to be an animal.

But when she and her boyfriend took a flashlight and finally investigated the attic earlier this week, they discovered that they could definitely rule out mice.

She said the attic had been cordoned off with cloth. Beer and water bottles, a blanket and old shirts were littered about.

In short, someone had been living there, apparently sneaking out when Ms. Peña went to work and sneaking back before she returned.

She believes the intruder would jimmy the front door, walk through her living room and up the stairs.

"I work 12 hours a day, and nobody's there. My kids are in day-care," she said. "Somebody could do it and not get caught."

Ms. Peña would return home some nights and find that food had disappeared from her refrigerator. On other occasions, some of her boyfriend's shirts would be missing from the closet. Although she said she was never frightened, she began to walk around her house armed with a golf club.

As time went on, the noises increased. By Thursday, she decided the time had come to force the issue.

She said she stood at the bottom of the stairway and yelled upstairs.

"I told him, 'I want you out of my attic. I'm going to go outside, and when I come back, you better be gone, or I'm calling the police!' " she said.

Ms. Peña left the house and a few minutes later saw a man sneak out of her back yard.

She described him as a white man in his late 40s, about 5 feet 4 inches tall and 120 pounds, wearing shorts and a tank top.

"He was fast-walking. He was drenched in sweat because it's hotter than sin up there," Ms. Peña recalled. "He saw me and hid behind a tree. I yelled, 'You better get out of here.' "

She's not certain that worked.

When she went back in her house, she said, she thought she heard more noises coming from the attic – either the man had not really left, or someone else was up there.

According to the police report, Ms. Peña went into the attic and saw the man. She told him to leave, but he refused. She locked the door leading to the attic until police arrived, the report says.

Police said they searched the attic and found signs someone had been living there but were unable to find anyone.

Ms. Peña said that when they came back downstairs, she and the police heard more noises coming from upstairs, but a second search also came up empty.

On the advice of police, Ms. Peña had the attic door boarded up. When she left for work on Friday, she kept the television turned on.

Ms. Peña said she won't feel sure the intruder has left until a few nights pass without additional noises. In the meantime, she said, she isn't worried.

"I'm pretty fearless," she said. "It's more a desire to make sure my kids are OK. I've got a mother's courage, I guess."

[TexasStooge]

Ex-con's bike program for kids changes neighborhood

By Carol Cavazos, WFAA ABC 8

GARLAND, Texas - A bike is part of every kid's life.

And life is cyclical. Bikes took one ex-con back to his childhood beginnings in bicycle repair and drove him into his future helping children.

"Like I tell the kids, 'Look, don't make the wrong choices I made,'" said Eddie Maldonado.

It once looked like the end of the road for Maldonado.

He was featured on "America's Most Wanted" for gun-running and sent to prison for 15 years.

The wheels started turning when prisoners needed something to occupy their time. Maldonado's idea? A bicycle repair shop.

Now out of prison, he gives kids the tools they need to make it through their difficult years.

"These are the tools that keep the bike from not striping and destroying parts of the bikes," he says, as he shows one child some useful techniques.

The name of his program is "Bicycles Most Wanted." It was launched at Bussey Middle School in Garland as a two-day after school repair class.

If you got detention, you couldn't go.

After the program started, complaint calls about criminal mischief at the park next to the school dropped to just one. Before that, there were 89.

"Not only has it turned some of the kids around but let's say the flavor of the neighborhood has changed," said Lt. Dave Swavey from Garland Police.

Garland Police guide the program. Jupiter Chevrolet will sponsor a new one, while the program is set to expand to other states.

Fortunately for the police, Maldonado came full circle.

"It's my calling. My purpose in life," he says.

[TexasStooge]

Dog dumped at veterinary clinic found strangled

By JOHN PRONK / WFAA ABC 8

IRVING, Texas - Every day, dozens of beloved pets are brought into the Animal Hospital of Valley Ranch by their owners.

"My dog just has a little bump on its foot and I couldn't get here quick enough. I can't understand the neglect of other people with animals. It's beyond me," said Sherry Cope.

But a small terrier was recently found abandoned, just outside the clinic's back door.

The dog was dead, strangled by an electrical cord someone had tied to its neck and wrapped around the post.

It wasn't found until the clinic opened Friday morning, when it was too late to save the animal.

"It looks like the dog wrapped itself up and strangled itself - it's very cruel," said Jennifer Horton.

The staff say that people often abandon pets at veterinary clinics.

"If you are trying to find a home for your pet, there's a better way of going about it," Horton said.

The dog was a Boston terrier mix and its death has tugged at every heart in this small Irving clinic.

"The note said, 'My name is Zeus. I'm a good dog,'" said Horton.

"It's just sad they think their dog's so good that they would do something like that," she added.

There's a bulletin board in the clinic - rewards, notices for lost animals, owners desperately searching for their pets.

What a sharp contrast to the sad turn of events here and a little terrier named Zeus.

"It goes to all our hearts. When you see that, you think it's cruel. It's really, really cruel," says Horton.

[TexasStooge]

Struggle with police caught on video

By CHRIS HAWES / WFAA ABC 8

GARLAND, Texas - A broken blinker led to a fight between a driver and police, which caught on camera, has become the subject of a lawsuit.

Rodney Duffey was pulled over by Garland police officers in January.

That, of course, makes sense.

But Duffey's attorney says it's one of the last logical steps the police took.

It started off like any other traffic stop.

Then Garland officers then asked Duffey to step out of the car.

That's when Duffey said he knew it wasn't going to end with him heading home.

Police violently forced him to the ground.

It is clear from listening to the tape that officers knew, but did not tell Duffey, that he was wanted for a misdemeanor - skipping out on a work release program.

Officers say Duffey fought the arrest.

But Duffey says he was fighting for survival.

Duffey's attorney Jeff Rasansky admits his client tried to run.

"He's trying to get away because he's being beaten," says Rasansky.

Rasansky says his client pleaded with the officers, saying 'you don't need to beat me, sir,' and that he says that he can't breathe over and over again.

Officers have charged Duffey with assaulting them.

Duffey and his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Garland and the officers.

"I got lucky and got a video tape," says Duffey.

Garland police are not talking about the incident, so we looked at the police report for the officers' side of things.

In it they say that it must be noted that Duffey is a violent convicted felon. They say his record includes assault.

[TexasStooge]

Two shot dead at Dallas nightclub

By BOB GREENE / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Police said two people were killed and four others were wounded when gunfire erupted in downtown Dallas early Sunday.

The incident happened in front of El Angel nightclub in the 600 block of North Harwood Street near Ross Ave.

One victim was found dead in a nearby parking lot. He was identified as Lendl Carey, 22, of Dallas. A second person, whom police identified as Kenneth Haggery, 20, died later at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Four other people were also taken to Baylor University Medical Center. Their conditions were not believed to be life-threatening.

Investigators said they didn't know what triggered the 1:30 a.m. shooting, but said it could be gang-related.

"Two rival gangs were involved in an earlier disturbance inside the club, and it led outside the the club, where gunfire erupted and then we had the multiple people shot," said Dallas police Sr. Cpl. Jamie Matthews.

Detectives said they believe more than one person was responsible for the the shootings.

This was the second multiple shooting in downtown Dallas in as many months. Eleven people were shot outside the Thomas & Leggitt Tavern on Main Street on June 10.

Incidents like this have downtown reisdents like Charlie Price on edge about going out.

"As people are starting to move down here, of course the nightlife and the restaurants are starting to become a lot busier—but it's still attracting the wrong crowd," he said. "A cop or two cops should be at the door at every club."

Dallas police spokesman Lt. Rick Watson said the department has doubled its presence downtown since last month's multiple shooting.

"Last night, we had our tactical, we had operation disruption, we had our gang unit and we also had our mounted unit," Watson said, adding that the incident this weekend may change police strategy at downtown nightclubs.

Charlie Price said club owners must also take precautions. "I think security at the clubs anywhere in Dallas is just a joke," he said.

WFAA-TV photojournalist Bryan Titsworth contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Districts on TAKS cheat list in dark

State didn't seek data on why firm flagged schools, preventing investigation

By JOSHUA BENTON / The Dallas Morning News

When he saw that six Richardson schools were on the state's list of potential TAKS cheaters, Superintendent Jim Nelson wanted to investigate. But to do so, he needed to know how Caveon – the company that built the list – did its work.

He e-mailed state Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley, whose agency paid Caveon to do the analysis: "Commissioner, how do I get detailed information as to how Caveon reached their conclusions? All we got were the conclusions."

He added, according to documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News : "Anger and frustration aimed at the agency is palpable. I want to help, but we must have access to their analysis." Without those details, the Texas Education Agency is doing "nothing more than a hit and run," he said.

Mr. Nelson and other Texas educators have tried to get the information they think they need to clear their schools' names. But the TEA hasn't been able to give it to them. That's because agency officials never got the data themselves.

As a result, few, if any, thorough cheating investigations have begun – nearly two months after Caveon determined that 609 schools had suspicious test scores.

As Frisco Superintendent Rick Reedy wrote in a statement on the district's Web site: "We did take the report seriously, and we did try to investigate the findings ... without much luck."

TEA officials say they never wanted the findings from the $500,000 Caveon analysis to lead to large-scale investigations. The agency expected the analysis to be the first part of a multiyear study that might improve test security down the line.

But faced with anxious superintendents and political leaders, the agency has been moved to action. Now it's scrambling to figure out how far, exactly, it's willing to pursue suspected cheaters.

Dr. Neeley counsels patience. "We just need more information," she said.

Perhaps Dr. Neeley summed up the agency's frustration over reaction to the Caveon list best in one of her e-mail replies to Mr. Nelson: "I am livid; this whole thing has totally gotten out of hand."

Stories brought probe

The TEA brought in Utah-based Caveon last year after a series of Dallas Morning News stories uncovered educator-led cheating in a number of Texas schools.

Caveon was supposed to analyze 2005 scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills to look for evidence of cheating by students or educators. That could include inexplicable jumps in student test scores, duplicate answer sheets or suspicious patterns in student answers.

But the problems identified for the 609 schools aren't all the same. Some had TAKS results that seem beyond the pale – like the one where the answer sheets of 89 of a classroom's 91 students were virtually identical. Caveon flagged other schools for having only a few students with suspiciously similar answer patterns.

The problem is that schools don't know which group they fall in – and for now, there's no way for them to find out.

When the TEA hired Caveon, it didn't ask the company to provide the detailed data necessary for an investigation. Such data could say, for example, which students' answer sheets at a given school were suspect and why they were flagged. The data could also indicate which students had duplicate answer sheets suggesting copying and which score gains were suspicious.

That's the kind of information that superintendents say they want.

"We cannot get enough information or data from Caveon to conduct any kind of investigation – if in fact one is even warranted," Mr. Nelson wrote via e-mail last week from Ireland, where he was vacationing. "My schools on the list are relatively high-performing, so I must admit to being very skeptical of their analysis."

The lack of supporting data from the TEA is particularly noteworthy because Dr. Neeley, in a letter to superintendents, told districts to "conduct any investigations you deem necessary."

In their e-mail conversation, which took place on June 13, Dr. Neeley told Mr. Nelson that Caveon's methods of detecting cheaters are proprietary and, thus, couldn't be shared with districts.

Mr. Nelson expressed disbelief: "That really causes a problem. It's like Alice in Wonderland. 'Our analysis shows you may have cheated, but we won't show you how the analysis is done.' Crazy."

A Caveon official told The News that the company was never asked to provide the detailed data.

"What we furnished to Texas was exactly what was asked for," said Don Sorensen, Caveon's vice president of marketing. The additional information could be provided, he said, but probably would cost the agency more. "If they want further detail, that would require a new contract."

To this point, the TEA hasn't formally requested the information, Mr. Sorensen said.

"If we can, TEA will get that data," Dr. Neeley said. She indicated there may have been confusion over how much of Caveon's data is proprietary.

To Mr. Nelson, she wrote last month: "Caveon owns the software – it is proprietary. In other words, we do NOT have access to the programs that generate the results."

But Mr. Sorensen said that while Caveon's specific algorithms are proprietary, the classroom- and student-level detail they produce would be available.

The difficulty in obtaining the information extends beyond the TEA to the company that administers the TAKS test for the state. When one San Antonio-area principal called Caveon last month to seek more information about why his school was on the list, his request was forwarded to Walter Sherwood, who heads the Texas assessment contract at the testing company Pearson. (Caveon is a subcontractor to Pearson.)

"No information was provided to this person, and I've instructed Caveon not to respond to this message or any others that they receive," Mr. Sherwood wrote in an e-mail to TEA officials.

Dr. Neeley, a former superintendent in suburban Houston, said she understands the frustrations of school districts having trouble investigating without the data. "I agree with them 100 percent," she said Friday. She said districts and the public should be patient while the TEA formulates a plan of action.

"Everybody should just take a chill pill," she said.

A stronger pursuit

One district, Conroe ISD outside Houston, has even hired an attorney to pursue testing records that the TEA has not provided. Three Conroe high schools landed on the Caveon list, all for unusual test gains. One is The Woodlands High School, one of the state's wealthiest.

After the district filed an open records request seeking some of the data, TEA attorneys appealed to the state attorney general's office, arguing that the agency shouldn't have to provide the information.

Conroe Superintendent Don Stockton didn't respond to several calls from The News. But in an interview with a Conroe newspaper, he said the TEA has told him the allegations aren't worth investigating.

"Our scores are not alarming because TEA has told us there's nothing to be alarmed about," he told The Courier of Montgomery County.

That's the approach the TEA has taken with many of the suburban schools that Caveon said had unusually large gains. Outsize gains were one of the four "flags" that the Caveon analysis assigned to the 609 schools. It is also the flag most commonly assigned to well-off suburban high schools, including in Richardson and Frisco.

Dr. Neeley said those scores – which Caveon considers statistically unlikely to have occurred naturally – are instead indications of hard work by educators.

"I'm not trying to say it should be a badge of valor to be on that list, but every superintendent should be able to explain why those student gains were so good," she said in the interview Friday. "As much effort as we concentrate on closing the achievement gap, I would be disappointed if we didn't have significant gains."

Dr. Neeley said the wealthy districts on the list – including many considering self-investigations – are unlikely to cheat.

"You look at Highland Park, Richardson, Eanes," she said, naming some of the state's wealthiest districts in the Dallas and Austin areas. "Do they have to cheat to have good scores? I gave a talk in Eanes not long ago and said, 'Do you people think Westlake High School had to cheat to get good scores?' "

One of Dr. Neeley's top deputies, Susan Barnes, said schools that think they need to investigate possible cheating could instead try to figure out how their teachers and administrators did their jobs so effectively.

"They can ask, 'What did we do in our district that helped our students learn so well?' " said Dr. Barnes, associate commissioner for standards and programs. "They could certainly say, 'Here are some of the reasons our students did such a good job on their assessment.' "

But the TEA is explaining away score gains without any idea how unusual or widespread those gains may be. State officials don't know if a school's Caveon flag was caused by 10 students with unusually big score gains – or 100.

Dr. Neeley has maintained that cheating on state tests is rare and that some in the media, including The News, and the public have overreacted.

As she put it in her e-mail exchange with Mr. Nelson, himself a former state education commissioner: "Am so sorry about all the anguish this has caused, because the bottom line is we are being punished for working hard and doing a good job to close the achievement gap."

Bonuses change context

Agency officials received draft versions of Caveon's findings last fall but didn't pursue any investigations – even though the study made it clear that some of the high school seniors who graduated this May cheated on state tests required for graduation.

The initial plan was to gather several years' worth of data before judging whether some schools might house improper behavior.

When the Caveon list was released in May, TEA officials said it would let districts decide whether to investigate themselves. But that changed when it became clear that 14 schools on the list were due state bonuses because of their high test scores.

Now the agency plans to investigate all 14 of those schools, plus an uncertain number of others. "We need to figure out where to draw the line," Dr. Neeley said. Officials said those decisions should be made within a month.

Dr. Neeley said TEA teams would visit the schools selected for investigation to check for signs of cheating. In addition, an outside appeals panel evaluate the work of the TEA teams.

On-site visits of the sort Dr. Neeley is promising are relatively rare for cheating allegations. The last major such visits were to Wilmer-Hutchins ISD in late 2004 and early 2005. Those visits were prompted by News stories outlining apparent cheating in several district schools.

In the end, the TEA team found that two-thirds of the district's elementary teachers were helping students improperly.

The agency dissolved the district last month.

"We take this very seriously," Dr. Neeley said.

[TexasStooge]

City parking: Do you prefer paper or plastic?

By TY A. ALLISON / The Dallas Morning News

Don't have change for parking?

Not to worry. Motorists can now use plastic to pay for parking at city-owned lots in Dallas' West End.

City lots at 700, 900 and 1000 McKinney Ave. beneath Woodall Rodgers Freeway had kiosk pay stations installed at the beginning of the month. Motorists can use debit cards, MasterCard and Visa. Coins and paper currency can also be used at the kiosks.

Charlsie Thompson works at a West End restaurant and got caught without cash when she first used her credit card at one of the kiosks.

"I park down here almost every day, and I ran out of cash," Ms. Thompson said. "It was cool that I could use my card. It's convenient."

John Brunck, the city's assistant director of public works, said he's used the new kiosks a couple of times and noticed that people seem to be getting familiar with them.

"At first, people just kind of look at them, trying to determine how to use them," Mr. Brunck said. "I haven't heard of any complaints so far, though."

The credit card payments are accepted over a secure, wireless system, and the kiosks issue receipts for all transactions, officials said. The kiosks do not dispense change.

Mr. Brunck said the long-term goal is to replace single-space meters with multispace meters, so one kiosk would replace eight meters.

"Hopefully, in the next two years, we would have all city lots switched over to the new system," he said.

Dallas officials also plan to install parking kiosks at city-owned parking lots in Deep Ellum within the next 90 days.

The West End's six parking kiosks cost about $11,000 each and were paid for with parking revenue. The city's parking contractor, ACS State and Local Solutions, installed the units.

Prominent red signs are displayed in the city lots that warn motorists not to pay any person to park in the areas. If there are people claiming to be parking attendants, the signs urge motorists to call 911.

Alex Smit, who works at Spaghetti Warehouse in the West End, pays to park when he goes to his job. Mr. Smit said the new system is useful because most people don't carry a lot of cash on them.

"You don't have to worry about digging around to find exact change for the machine," he said. "You can just swipe your card, and that's it."

[TexasStooge]

Uninsured driver crackdown tabled

To avoid ticketing errors, state looks for right fit for verification program

By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – The state's planned crackdown on uninsured drivers – one of every five motorists on the road – is on the shelf until next year so officials can figure out how to avoid ticketing, or even arresting, motorists because of bad information.

The problem is how to manage the mountain of data matching 15 million drivers with their insurers.

Officials have scrapped nearly a dozen bids they received this year from information service companies wanting to administer the auto insurance verification program. New bids will be taken later this month.

"We weren't satisfied with what we got back, so we have asked for a second set of bids with greater detail than we requested before," said Ben Gonzales, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Insurance.

Despite the delay, Texas drivers will continue to pay a $1 fee in their license renewals to pay for the program.

The program is aimed at catching uninsured drivers by allowing police officers, state troopers, vehicle inspection stations and others to instantly verify whether a motorist has at least the minimum coverage required under state law. The verification would come through either a central database or a Web site set up in conjunction with the insurance industry.

'Do the right thing'

State Sen. Todd Staples, R-Palestine, author of the uninsured motorist legislation, said he had hoped to see the program nearing implementation by now, but he doesn't want to see it launched until state officials are satisfied it will do what it's intended to do.

"While I'm frustrated it has not yet been implemented, it is more important to do the right thing than have a system that is cumbersome for legally insured drivers in our state," Mr. Staples said.

"Texas has an unacceptable level of uninsured motorists, and we still intend to crack down on those who are violating the law by not having insurance coverage. But it's going to take a little more time. I hope we can see a system in place as early as possible in 2007."

Mr. Staples and numerous others who passed the law in 2005 said one of the most frequent complaints they hear from constituents at town hall meetings is the large number of uninsured drivers in Texas and the extra cost they represent for the majority of drivers who buy insurance.

The insurance industry estimates that Texas drivers shell out nearly $900 million a year to protect themselves against those without coverage.

Although Texas has had a financial responsibility law requiring drivers to buy insurance for years, enforcement has been difficult even though proof of insurance must be furnished to get a license renewal or safety inspection. The minimum policy must contain liability coverage to pay for injuries and damage caused by the driver.

Many motorists skirt the law by using counterfeit proof-of-insurance cards or by obtaining a month's coverage of insurance to get an ID card, only to cancel the policy once they get their licenses renewed or their vehicles inspected.

Mr. Staples said he is encouraged by the growing number of cities – including several in North Texas – that have aggressively implemented local programs to penalize uninsured drivers. Among the cities with towing programs are Arlington, Dallas, DeSoto, Garland, Irving and Mesquite.

Those plans – which generally call for vehicles of uninsured drivers to be impounded if they're stopped on a traffic violation or involved in an accident – will get a boost once the state verification program is up and running.

The state program is being coordinated by the insurance department along with the departments of public safety and transportation. They are still studying how to best use the data to enforce the law. In some states, for example, uninsured drivers receive written notice from the state giving them a certain amount of time to buy coverage to avoid penalties.

Design disagreement

Officials have cited some differences over the design of the program between at least two of the state agencies. While the public safety department has favored a massive database to store all the information about drivers and their insurance carriers, the insurance department supports an Internet-based approach that would allow insurers to more easily update information on their policyholders.

Companies that bid for the contract will be allowed to incorporate either concept or both.

Carol Cates of the insurance department said Texas wants to avoid the mistakes that have plagued other states trying to combat the problem of uninsured motorists.

"In several states, a lot of people were incorrectly identified as having no insurance. We want to avoid that," she said. "That's one of the reasons we're giving bidders more time, so they can incorporate new technology that can be used to bring a top-rate system to Texas."

[TexasStooge]

State to require more of grads

4th year of math, science could cut into electives, hurt middling students

By HOLLY K. HACKER / The Dallas Morning News

Texas students soon will need four years of math and science to graduate from high school – and that could make electives an endangered academic species.

The state now requires three years of math and science. With the changes, which take effect with freshmen in 2007-08, Texas will have some of the toughest graduation requirements in the country. Only Alabama requires four years of math and science now.

Teachers, counselors and parents agree the plan makes sense for aspiring engineers and doctors, and for kids shooting for selective colleges.

But it's the future artists and electricians, and the students bound for less selective schools or no college at all, that they worry about.

"Not only do electives give students practical skills – sometimes those are the classes that keep kids in school," said Paula Barnhouse, a counselor at MacArthur High School in Irving.

"I'm really concerned about what will happen with the dropout rate."

Lawmakers added the fourth year as part of the sweeping school finance reform package they passed in May. They upped the math and science credits to better prepare students for college and careers. Too many college students take remedial math classes, they say, and too few pursue math and science majors.

Many Texas universities recommend four years of math and science, but even the top ones don't mandate it. Texas A&M University, for example, requires applicants to have three and a half years of math and three years of science. (One big exception: Students in the top tenth of their high school class are automatically admitted by state law.) Rice University expects students to have at least three years of math and two years of laboratory science.

Science, math grants

More rigor in math and science is a growing state emphasis. Just Thursday, the Texas Education Agency announced $4 million in grants to create more high school academies focused on science, math, engineering and technology. (Recipients include Berkner High in Richardson and Conrad High, a new school opening in Dallas this fall.) Federal efforts to improve math and science education are under way, too.

As school counselors and teachers see it, students bound for four-year colleges will be OK. Chances are they're already taking extra math, science and other credits.

Struggling students will have a safety valve. With school and parent permission, they can switch to an easier program that requires just three years of math and two of science.

The kids in the middle – the ones contemplating four-year vs. two-year college, or debating whether to head to college right after graduation – stand to get squeezed the most.

Too many kids fail to graduate on time as it is, said Cameron Boone, a rising senior at Lamar High School in Arlington. Demand more math and science, he said, and even more kids will drop out.

Cameron said he struggled in chemistry as a junior and ended up dropping the class. He'll take it again this coming year. If he needed four years of science, he said, he might be in trouble.

Plus, he said, electives are important. "It allows students to express themselves. It allows them time to find a career. ... If they're going to eliminate all of your electives, what's the point?"

To encourage students to keep taking electives, the state could raise the graduation requirement from 24 credits to 26. Board of education members raised the idea last week, after hearing from a long line of music, art and other teachers.

Nina Boothe, president of the Texas Art Education Association, said she hopes the state does require more credits.

"We will always have our bands because we have football, but I fear for orchestras and the smaller groups. I very much fear for all of the visual arts," said Ms. Boothe, who taught art for 30 years at Lake Highlands Junior High in the Richardson school district.

"The arts touch our souls," she said. "Calculus never touched my soul."

Most local high schools follow the state requirement of 24 credits, although a few require more. Mansfield High, for instance, requires 27 credits.

Most high schools offer seven or eight class periods a day, which makes it possible for students to graduate with 28 or 32 credits, respectively. Still, some educators are concerned.

In Irving, students can earn up to 28 credits, but they can graduate with a minimum of 24. Require 26 credits, and "there's absolutely no room for failure," said Ms. Barnhouse, the MacArthur counselor.

"A lot of kids take credits in middle school, but those are your stronger students, and those aren't the ones I'm concerned about here."

Students torn between, say, regular and honors English might opt for the easier class because they don't want to risk failing and not graduating on time, she said.

A dilemma for athletes

It's especially dicey for student athletes in Texas high schools. Typically, one of their class periods is spent practicing their sport. They can take a sport all four years, but the state lets them earn a maximum of two credits.

Kelley Miller, another Lamar senior, plays softball. She'll also graduate with four years of math and science, because she wants to study veterinary medicine or forensic science in college. To fit all that in, she said, she couldn't take some electives, such as an interior design class that interested her.

Still, she said she's got mixed feelings about the extra math and science.

"A lot of high school students, I have to admit, are lazy, especially their senior year." She said she believes with hard work, they can take more classes – and pass them.

College officials, for their part, welcome the extra math and science – and the extra credits.

"We have encouraged students to take more science and math, but when it's not a requirement, you don't get a lot of support for that," said Joneel Harris, associate vice president for enrollment management at the University of North Texas.

She understands concerns about higher standards turning off some kids, but she doesn't believe that will happen.

"Our experience with our kids is that they've found time to do it all. The things they're passionate about, they will make time for it."