Featured News
SBOE Recap: Board Approves Controversial Bluebonnet Learning Materials
The November meeting of the State Board of Education (SBOE) began Monday with the fanfare of another public hearing on the instructional materials submitted for consideration and adoption under the new process established by House Bill 1605. The focus was almost entirely on the Texas Education Agency-developed English language arts and reading (ELAR) product Bluebonnet Learning. After significant stakeholder resistance...
Read MoreTexas Revives Ten Commandments Bill Amid Louisiana Ruling
A federal judge in Louisiana has struck down a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, citing it as “unconstitutional on its face.” The ruling cited concerns about religious coercion and violations of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. This decision could foreshadow legal battles for...
Read MoreStatement on SBOE Approval of Bluebonnet Learning Materials
On Friday, the State Board of Education approved Bluebonnet Learning, a set of state-created curriculum materials infused with an inappropriate level of Christian and biblical content. Texas AFT President Zeph Capo released the following statement in response.
Read MoreSBEC Preview: A Consequential List of Proposals
The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) will meet in Austin on Friday, Dec. 6. The board will take up for proposal several items Texas AFT has been watching closely.
Read MoreEmpowering Texas: How Teacher Retirement Benefits Drive Economic Growth
Last year, an overwhelming majority of Texas voters chose to give retired educators in the state the first cost-of living-adjustment (COLA) to their pensions in decades. This investment has put more money directly into the pockets of retired educators, allowing them to invest their money as they see fit and...
Read MoreState Legislators Pre-File Legislation to Support Educators & School Employees: Educator’s Bill of Rights Update
State legislators began pre-filing bills for the upcoming 89th legislative session early last week. We are excited to share that several bills have already been filed advancing key priorities in Texas AFT’s Educator’s Bill of Rights.
Read MoreSocial Security Fairness Act Passes U.S. House, Heads for Senate Approval
After decades of advocacy from AFT members and other labor unions of public service employees, is a repeal of the reviled Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) finally at hand?
Read More‘Not a Faculty Senate, but the Texas Senate’: Senate Higher Ed Subcommittee Signals Expanded Political Interference
On Monday, Nov. 11, the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee held its third interim committee hearing this year on three consequential charges, including two that are expected to have significant implications for both academic freedom and democratic representation.
Read MoreIn national election results, voters overwhelmingly rejected vouchers
In three states, a mix of “red” and “blue,” coalitions of rural and urban voters, and of Republicans and Democrats, came together to forcefully reject sending taxpayer dollars (intended for public schools) to private schools via a voucher program.
Read MoreSBOE: Bluebonnet Learning/OER Vote Happening Next Week
The State Board of Education (SBOE) will hear testimony on Bluebonnet Learning materials and vote on the proposed curriculum this week.
Read MoreNov. 8, 2024: What we have is each other
Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 Progress is never a straight line, and our fight for thriving public schools is the work of lifetimes. But we’ve been it here in Texas for the past 50 years, and we’ll be in for the next 50 too. What we have is each other Over...
Read MoreA Note from Texas AFT Leaders on This Election
Voters have spoken; though, 7 million registered voters in Texas sat out this election. As leaders of your union, we are deeply concerned with the direction our state will now take, specifically as it relates to public education, but we respect the will of the people who showed up and...
Read MoreSBOE preview: Anticipated Instructional Materials Adoption
Normally, we would wait until the Friday before the meeting to preview the upcoming State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting on Nov. 18-22. But we wanted to alert Hotline readers to some recent news and an opportunity for action.
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