Featured News
Action Needed: SBOE to Review TEA’s Bible-Infused New Curriculum
Typically, we would wait to preview the State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting in the Hotline edition closest to the date of the meeting. However, there is a hotly anticipated hearing happening at the board’s next regular meeting, Sept. 10-13, and we need our members engaged and taking action in advance of the meeting. Regular Hotline readers will be familiar...
Read MoreMarch 29, 2024: Why We Keep Going
Friday, March 29, 2024 Why we keep going As has become the norm, much of the news we have for you this week is bleak. In times like these, as districts announce cuts and layoffs and as the attacks on education from the state government continue, many teachers and...
Read MoreUpdate: American Indian/Native Studies Course Still in SBOE Limbo
As of this writing, the agenda for the April meeting of the State Board of Education has yet to be posted, and so we anxiously await whether the proposed American Indian/Native Studies course will finally be on the agenda for first reading.
Read MoreSBOE Chair Divests $8.5 Billion in Public School Funding. What Comes Next?
Earlier this week, Texas AFT released a statement condemning Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) Chairman Aaron Kinsey’s unilateral decision to divest $8.5 billion in Permanent School Fund assets from wealth manager BlackRock, ostensibly in response to 2021’s Senate Bill 13. On March 19, Kinsey issued a formal statement to...
Read MorePublic Education on the Ballot: New Elected Positions to be Filled in May 4 Local Elections Will Decide Who Controls Local Property Tax Revenue
Texas voters will cast their ballots for three new elected positions in the local elections to be held on May 4. This local election date is separate from the May 28 uniform election date on which runoff elections will be...
Read MoreWhat Happened to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s “Electioneering” Lawsuits Against 7 School Districts?
In the weeks leading up to the March 5 primary elections, Attorney General Ken Paxton took the unusual step of filing lawsuits against seven school districts (Denton, Aledo, Denison, Castleberry, Hutto, Huffman, and Frisco ISDs) accusing them of unlawful “electioneering.”...
Read MoreRecommended Viewing: TEA Releases HB 1605 Webinar on Limits to Teacher Duties, Responsibilities
Earlier this month, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) held a long-awaited webinar in its House Bill (HB) 1605 series, Planning and Non-Instructional Duties of Teachers. The webinar provides an overview of the new statutory protections of planning time for classroom teachers and guidance on the supplemental duty agreement with a...
Read MoreMarch 22, 2024: Abbott Does Not Serve All Texans
Friday, March 22, 2024 Corpus Christi AFT president Nancy Vera presents about unions, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and social justice to high school students at the Garcia Arts and Education Center on March 13. The Work Doesn’t Stop Here. At the end of the month we celebrate César Chávez...
Read MoreSBOE Puts Duty to Donors Over Duty to Schools, Texas Taxpayers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 25, 2024 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org SBOE puts duty to donors over duty to schools and Texas taxpayers Texas State Board of Education Chairman Aaron Kinsey announced a reckless divestment of public school funds despite warnings from his own staff. AUSTIN, Texas — Last week, Texas...
Read MoreRebuttal to Governor Abbott’s False Narrative in the “2024 Report to the People of Texas”
Gov. Greg Abbott's "2024 Report to the People of Texas" paints a picture of a state thriving economically, leading in job creation, and investing in its future. However, a critical analysis, especially from the perspective of public education and the decisions made by the 88th Texas Legislature, reveals significant gaps...
Read MoreAnti-Immigrant Texas Law, SB 4: Chaos, Courts, and the Clash Over Immigration
The legal battle over Texas's controversial SB 4, a cruel and racist law designed to create a state-level immigration enforcement system, has become increasingly chaotic in the past several days as the Supreme Court of the United States and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a slew of orders...
Read MoreAnswering FAQs: Runoff Election Edition
After facing decades of fierce bipartisan resistance to the idea of using taxpayer dollars to pay for private school tuition, school voucher supporters “in Texas” — more on that in a moment — emerged from the March 5 primary election claiming victory. But should they? Let’s dig deeper into the...
Read MoreAFT endorses new legislation to help students obtain mental health services
In January, the bipartisan Expanding Mental Health Services Access in Schools Act was introduced in Congress. This bill would create multiple grant programs that schools could apply for to access mental health services funding and would be accessible to millions of students across Texas. After endorsing the bill, American Federation...
Read More