On Tuesday, after several months of gathering our members’ input, Texas AFT unveiled our union’s agenda for the 89th Legislature in 2025: a real Educator’s Bill of Rights.
That agenda is both ambitious, but it’s also quite simple. We asked our members not only what they needed to remain in their jobs but also what they considered essential rights for all Texas educators — certified and classified, in K-12 and higher education, active and retired.
Contrast that with last year’s Senate Bill 9, the so-called “Teacher’s Bill of Rights” filed by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe). If you’ll recall, that’s the bill that touted a one-time bonus for teachers as a “teacher pay raise” and offered nothing for paraprofessionals and support staff.
We tried to improve SB 9 many times, offering feedback in the Capitol from our members to no avail. So, this time, we’re taking things into our own hands and proactively offering real solutions for Texas schools.
Those solutions could not be more urgent. For years, we’ve sounded the alarm about the real crisis in our public schools: retaining and recruiting dedicated, qualified educators. After the 88th Legislature largely ignored those issues (and the recommendations from the state’s own Teacher Vacancy Task Force), the problem has worsened still.
“For so many of us–teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, cafeteria workers–education is a calling, but it’s also a career. We can’t give our students our best in the classroom if we’re constantly worried about making our next credit card payment or paying the electric bill. Too many educators are being priced out of the communities where we live, where we teach, and where we’ve built our lives. It’s beyond living paycheck to paycheck at this point. No one wins when qualified, certified teachers and support staff are forced out of the profession.”
As districts across the state enter the year with budget deficits, closed schools, and staff layoffs, educator burnout is at an all-time, quantifiable high. On Thursday, the Charles Butt Foundation released its 2024 Texas Teacher Poll, which found 78% of Texas public school teachers say they have seriously considered leaving their position in the past year, up from 58% in 2020.
The question is not, do we have a crisis on our hands? The question is, what do we intend to do about it?
“Every time that a neighborhood public school closes, our community loses,” said Wanda Longoria, secretary-treasurer of Texas AFT, at a Tuesday press conference announcing the Educator’s Bill of Rights. “Every time that a public school teacher quits the profession because they simply cannot take any more disrespect, our community loses. Every time a district is forced to lay off bus drivers or cafeteria workers or paraprofessionals, the people who know our schools and our kids so well, our community loses. And I’m here today to say that Texas educators are tired of losing.”
What’s in the Educator’s Bill of Rights
On our website, you’ll find the full list of 10 rights, each with multiple educator-defined problems and educator-approved solutions. These will comprise the package of legislation we are already speaking with lawmakers about. In brief, though, these are the 10 rights that Texas educators consider essential to performing their jobs effectively:
- Educators have a right to reasonable working conditions with adequate time to teach in classrooms that are not overcrowded, and with workdays that do not consistently stretch into worknights and work weekends.
- Educators have a right to fair wages whether they are a classroom teacher making $9,000 less per year than their national peers, or they are a paraprofessional whose paychecks hover near federal poverty thresholds.
- Educators have a right to a secure retirement that affords them dignity after a lifetime of service and does not require them to come hat in hand every legislative session to beg for a pension that matches inflation.
- Educators have a right to quality, affordable childcare that allows them to stay in our schools nurturing their students without sacrificing the well-being of their own kids.
- Educators have a right to healthy, safe, and secure working environments free from the constant worry of gun violence or the guessing game of whether the air-conditioning will keep pace with Texas summer heat.
- Educators have a right to academic freedom and an end to book-banning and classroom censorship, as well as the attacks on tenure in higher education.
- Educators have a right to meaningful professional development that compensates teachers for continued striving within their profession and opens doors to support staff and paras to grow into new roles.
- Educators have the right to organize with their colleagues without fear of retaliation and with the knowledge that collective bargaining leads to better working and learning environments.
- Educators have a right to democratic representation and a seat at every table making decisions about our schools. That includes the repeal of legislation that allows an appointed education commissioner to undermine the will of voters by replacing their elected school boards.
- Educators have a right to freedom of religion in our schools without being forced by this state’s leaders to choose between violating their students’ constitutional rights or violating the state’s mandates to force religious instruction upon them.
“Our schools are struggling, and Governor Abbott doesn’t care. I love my job, I care deeply about my students, and I want to keep doing this work for years to come. It’s just not sustainable for our leaders to starve our schools, demonize hardworking educators and support staff, and shortchange our students.”
How We Win the Educator’s Bill of Rights
In a state with the world’s eighth-largest economy, we can expect better, and we must demand better because our kids (and our educators) are worth it. But “we” is the operative word. It will take everyone who loves their neighborhood public schools to overcome the all-too-often undemocratic aspects of our state government and the obstinate opposition of those who seek to privatize this foundational public good.
Sign on to the Educator’s Bill of Rights
Every educator, parent, and community member who signs on in support of our Educator’s Bill of Rights brings us closer to introducing it in the 89th Legislature and applying enough pressure on lawmakers to pass it. Add your name and show your support today.
Talk to Your Colleagues About the Educator’s Bill of Rights
Texas AFT has 66,000 members across this state, between K-12 and higher ed institutions and our retired educators. That’s a huge number, but it’s not enough to apply pressure on all 150 state representatives and 31 state senators. We need a movement, not a moment. That means your co-workers who aren’t in our union yet, as well as members of your community, need to hear from you why this legislation is so important.
Ask Your Representatives to Support the Educator’s Bill of Rights
We want to thank Rep. Mihaela Plesa (D-Plano) and Rep. John Bryant (D-Dallas) for joining us this week at events rolling our Educator’s Bill of Rights. Both have pledged their support for the legislation. Now, we need more of their colleagues on board. Regardless of which side of the aisle your representative is on, their job is to work for you. Their job is to represent your interests as a constituent, but they need to hear from you directly about what those interests are! Find out who your state lawmakers are and call, email, or visit their district office.
Vote for Public School Allies This November
Every Texan needs to understand that their neighborhood school is on the ballot this year. The real “school choice” is between candidates who will prioritize public education and candidates who would privatize it. This week, we were proud to have several of the former join us to roll out the Educator’s Bill of Rights. All have earned Texas AFT COPE’s endorsement:
- Averie Bishop for House District 112
- Cassandra Hernandez for House District 115
- Kristian Carranza for House District 118
- Laurel Swift for House District 121