Publish Date: May 4, 2024 5:19 pm Author: Texas AFT
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Friday, May 3, 2024
This week, Houston ISD educators and UT Austin faculty both circulated resolutions of no confidence in their district and university administrators. Across the state and across the full spectrum of public education, Texas educators demand better for their students.
No Confidence
“The takeover of Houston ISD, the largest school district in Texas and the eighth-largest district in the country, is a politically motivated, irresponsible experiment that is worsening inequities and disenfranchising Houston voters. Houston ISD teachers and support staff have come together now to call for a vote of no confidence in state-installed Superintendent Mike Miles.”
So reads the opening lines of a resolution of no confidence passed by Houston Federation of Teachers leadership this week and sent to its full membership for ratification.
“The President has shown himself to be unresponsive to urgent faculty, staff, and student concerns. He has violated our trust. The University is no longer a safe and welcoming place for the diverse community of students and scholars who until now have called this campus home.”
Whether it’s K-12 or higher education, there is little confidence to go around in the state of Texas’ stewardship of its public schools. We stand with every educator who demands better.
In this week’s Hotline:
From its SB 17 overcompliance to its violent suppression of student protests, we recount the current troubles at UT Austin.
Guess what: Another poll of likely Texas voters shows they don’t support private school vouchers.
News from the interim legislative session: lawmakers’ temper tantrums over new Title IX protections, new committee on AI meets
Pull out your calendar and jot down some upcoming events.
— Higher Education
Amid Protests of Students, Faculty, and Staff, the State Tightens Its Grip on the University of Texas at Austin
InApril, state leaders’ attempted stranglehold over the University of Texas at Austin, Texas’ premier public university, came to a head in several ways. The month began with the university laying off dozens of employees who formerly worked in positions that dealt with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. The month ended with state troopers marching on campus to disrupt anti-war protests at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott and with the approval of UT Austin President Jay Hartzell.
Texas has the eighth-largest economy in the world and a $32.7 billion budget surplus, but our schools are starved for resources. How did this happen? What can we do to fix it? Can it be fixed?
Head back to school with Texas AFT for a brush-up on your civics education. In this bimonthly Zoom series, we’re walking through who holds the power in this state, what they’re doing with it, and what we need to build thriving public schools — and a thriving Lone Star State democracy.
Title IX Tensions: Texas Clashes with Biden Administration Over Title IX LGBTQ+ Student Protections
In a defiant move against the Biden Administration’s reinterpretation of Title IX, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have chosen to fight federal mandates that expand protections to include gender identity and sexual orientation. The administration’s revised guidelines redefine sex-based discrimination to extend safeguards to LGBTQ+ students.
The governor’s move, inviting a protracted legal battle at taxpayer expense, follows quickly in the footsteps of his remarks in April, attacking LGBTQ+ educators and calling for an “end” to transgender teachers.
Survey Says (Again) Little Support for Vouchers Among Texans
Last week, the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation released the results of its poll tracking likely Texas voters’ opinions on key legislative and political issues. Gov. Greg Abbott’s quest for a private school voucher program was among the topics posed to likely November voters, and the results are what everyone (except maybe the governor) already knew.
According to this latest poll, 57% of likely Texas voters are opposed to using taxpayer dollars to provide private school vouchers to all parents. Opposition to vouchers is strong among all gender, race, and partisan lines:
68% of Black Texans, 58% of Hispanic Texans, and 55% of white Texans
77% of Democrats, 56% of Independents, and 43% of Republicans
60% of women and 54% of men
58% of Texans in urban areas, 58% in suburban areas, and 57% in rural areas
Compare those results with the other education-related question from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation poll: Do you support increasing pay for public school teachers in Texas? The responses to that question are as close to unanimity as it gets in today’s political climate.
Without new leadership that makes public education a real priority, we cannot build the future we want to see: one with public schools funded and supported to thrive. Election Day for the primary runoffs in Texas is May 28, setting up a crucial general election for public schools this November. Join Texas AFT COPE for political action text banks on Zoom so we can make sure every educator in Texas knows what’s on their ballot and what’s at stake this election year!
For more information and for Texas AFT COPE’s current endorsements, visit our Voter Education Hub at vote.texasaft.org.
Speaking about the need for the district to support educators, Education Austin President Ken Zarifis said: “I’mvery proud of our Education Austin members. We recognize that it is this governor and our Legislature that is defunding public education, but we also realize that this school district, AISD, is responsible for taking care of its employees — taking care of them and treating them respectfully. So, we will continue to show and tell them to make it right regardless of what the state does because this district needs to make it right by its employees.”
— Texas Legislature
Texas House Committee Investigates AI & Its Impact
On Monday, the newly formed State House Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Emerging Technologies held its first meeting. The committee, which was formed to determine “the ways AI is integrated into our everyday lives and the potential security risks that come along with the emerging technology,” met to discuss its goals for an upcoming report on the issue as part of the interim period between legislative sessions.
One of the major reasons for the committee’s investigation is to determine the potential criminalization and punishment for using AI with malicious intent.
“Anytime there’s a major technological advance there’s a risk that comes with it,” said committee Chair Giovanni Capriglione (R-Keller) “Obviously, with elections and other things we’re worried about, deep fakes, changing people’s audios, and simply creating new tweets and such. It’s a potential risk not just to the candidate but also to the voters themselves.”
SBEC Recap: Updates on Educator Preparation, Pedagogy Standards
The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) convened in Austin last Friday for its regularly scheduled meeting.
Among the items of interest for this meeting was a discussion item on Chapter 235, related to the teacher pedagogy standards. These act as the basis for what educator preparation programs (EPPs) are required to teach and later how teachers will be evaluated when they enter the profession. Absent from the proposed rules was the foundation skill of how to design and plan a lesson. Instead, language was inserted on evaluating and selecting high-quality instructional materials (HQIM).
This is alarming because though HB 1605 does require EPPs to train candidates on the availability and use of HQIM, it did not require the removal of the essential training needed for teachers to be able to design and plan a lesson. This would be a radical shift in teacher training.
Texas education news from around the state that’s worth your time
📖TEA is using computers to grade the STAAR test. Just don’t call it AI, officials say. The Texas Education Agency is defending its decision to let computers grade students’ STAAR essay test questions in the face of mounting criticism from parents and teachers who question the fairness of an automated scoring system. (Houston Chronicle, May 1)
📖Texas fortified campuses after Uvalde, but gun violence affecting schools continues. In the past two weeks, gunfire has rocked three North Texas school communities. None of the incidents devolved into the kind of mass shooting the nation has come to know too well. But they shook students’ sense of security and ignited questions about what more leaders can do to keep children safe. (Dallas Morning News, April 27)
📖TX educators react to Lt. Gov. priorities for next legislative session. Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick has released 57 “interim charges,” the topics he wants Senate committees to study in preparation for the 89th legislative session next year. Four charges are for the committee overseeing public education. (Public News Service, April 24)
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