AM Update: SXSWedu Starts, Juvenile Justice System Studied, MoPac Open House Tonight

SXSWedu Starts Today

South by Southwest edu starts today. The conference, in its second year, brings together education professionals and business and policy leaders to discuss innovations in learning. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is one of this year’s keynote speakers.

Texas speakers include Dr. Mike Feinberg, co-founder of the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) Foundation and the Superintendent of KIPP Houston; Anita Givens, Associate Commissioner for Standards and Programs at the Texas Education Agency, and UT professor S. Craig Watkins, who studies young people’s social and digital media behaviors.

SXSW Interactive and Film begins this Friday. The music festival begins next Tuesday.

Lawmakers Discuss Juvenile Justice System

Some Texas lawmakers will meet this morning to discuss ways of reducing the number of young people referred to the state’s juvenile justice system. The House Committee on Corrections will consider the availability of early intervention programs and access to mental health services.

The committee is also charged with monitoring the integration of the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. In 2011, the legislature abolished these two commissions and created the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

Plans to Improve MoPac

A MoPac Improvement Community Open House is scheduled for today. The MoPac Improvement Project aims to address existing traffic congestion and prepare for future increases in the numbers of cars and trucks using the highway. TxDOT and the Mobility Authority will be at today’s meeting to answer questions and take feedback about the project. The open house will be from 4 to 8 p.m. this evening at the Dell Jewish Community Center.