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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 MoreUpdates from Houston ISD: It Gets Worse
Another week, another disappointing series of announcements from Texas’ most trod upon district. In the 11 months since the Texas Education Agency first announced that it would be taking over Texas’s largest school district, we have unfortunately come to expect bad news from Houston ISD. Recent announcements have been no...
Read MoreApply by March 31: Inaugural Asian American Studies Academy at UT Austin
If you or someone you know are passionate about building a future where Texas students feel bold in their belonging, we invite you to apply for the inaugural Asian American Studies Academy, to be held June 24-27 at the University of Texas at Austin. The Asian American Studies Academy, in...
Read MoreProtected: SBOE Chairman Aaron Kinsey puts Duty to Donors over Duty to Schools and Taxpayers
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Read MoreMarch 15, 2024: “Why is Texas like this now?”
Friday, March 15, 2024 What’s Dunn Can Still Be Undone We get asked one question quite regularly by teachers, counselors, nurses, bus drivers, librarians and more: “Why is Texas like this now? Why isn’t anyone in charge listening to us.” Texas Monthly’s March edition has the answer in the form...
Read MoreSocorro ISD Requests TEA Conservatorship: State Intervention and the Threat to Our Public Schools
The public education community in Socorro ISD (SISD) was shocked last week to learn that following a closed-door session, the school district’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Tuesday to request that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) appoint one or more conservators to oversee the district’s operations. Why did the...
Read MoreBiden Fires off Most Worker-Centric, Education-Focused State of the Union Speech in Memory
Last Thursday, President Joe Biden addressed Congress and the nation in his third official State of the Union address. The president broached a diverse set of topics, including the economy, international affairs, women’s reproductive rights, and immigration. The speech included several significant remarks supporting workers generally and educators specifically. Texas...
Read MorePensions at Risk: Join Texas Climate Jobs Project, Texas AFT for Webinar on Threats to Texas Public Employees’ Retirement
Laws have been enacted in Texas that may be putting the futures of our public sector workers and retirees at risk. These laws dictate how public pension funds can be invested or divested without considering the performance of the investments....
Read MoreNew Report Highlights How Dress Codes Discriminate Against Texas Students
Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas (ACLU Texas) released the Dressed to Express Report to highlight the role that dress codes have played in discrimination in Texas public schools. The data, collected from over 1,100 Texas public schools, “provides insight into the prevalence of inequitable dress and...
Read MoreMarch 8, 2024: Public Schools at the Polls
Friday, March 8, 2024 This is what democracy looks like It’s been quite a week. On Tuesday, Texans went to the polls to vote in primary elections, setting up a muddled outlook for public education in the 89th Legislature next year. Yesterday, meanwhile, President Joe Biden delivered the State of...
Read MorePrimary Election Recap: Voucher Money Won Some Races. Vouchers Themselves Did Not.
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 MoreComputers Scoring STAAR Essays: Is Texas Sacrificing Quality for Efficiency?
Texas has quietly implemented a major change to the scoring of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams, a move that signals a concerning shift towards machine-driven evaluation and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.
Read MoreCommunity Outrage Sparks Reversal of Keller ISD’s Cancellation of The Laramie Project
After weeks of student, parent, and community pushback, Timber Creek High School’s student performance of The Laramie Project will go on in Keller ISD. The decision, announced via email on Wednesday, was a swift reversal of the district’s decision in February to cancel the production, which garnered national media attention...
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