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Retiree Issues in the Spotlight
We continue to await news of the final outcome of the bipartisan effort in Congress to pass the Social Security Fairness Act and finally repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) to ensure that public employees – including educators, firefighters, and VA nurses – receive the Social Security benefits they are due.
Read MoreA-F Accountability Ratings to be Released in September
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has announced a timeline for release of the 2022-2023 state accountability ratings. For some school districts, the new A-F ratings, which will be released to the public on September 28, 2023, will show that they are doing a worse job compared to last school year...
Read MoreStatement on Houston ISD Plans to Fill Staffing Gaps with Uncertified Teachers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 2, 2023 CONTACT: press@texasaft.org Texas AFT President Zeph Capo & Houston Federation of Teachers President Jackie Anderson commented today on reports that Houston ISD’s state-installed superintendent will seek waivers from the Texas Education Agency to hire uncertified teachers: “Educators have been told throughout the process of...
Read MoreJuly 28, 2023: AFT in Washington, in Austin, in Your District
Friday, July 28, 2023 Education Austin, Houston Federation of Teachers Presidents Represent Texas at Nation’s Capitol Last week, two Texas AFT local union presidents traveled to Washington D.C. to represent Texas educators on the national stage. Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, journeyed to D.C. to participate...
Read MoreFact vs. Fiction: The ‘Demand’ for School Vouchers
David DeMatthews, associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas, and David S. Knight, associate professor of education finance and policy at the University of Washington, broke down school voucher rhetoric in the Houston Chronicle this week. The Legislature may be adjourned (for...
Read MoreTEA Recruiting Advisory Committee Members, Application Deadline Aug. 25
Just because the Legislature is not in session (for now), that doesn't mean the policy work stops. The Texas Education Agency is always in the process of revising its rules and regulations for our Texas classrooms. Frequently, TEA seeks educator involvement. It’s critical that our members participate in these ongoing...
Read MoreUpdate from Houston ISD: Fighting for the ‘Heart & Soul of Learning’
Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, speaks at a March rally with Houston ISD parents, community allies, and local elected officials. Nearly two months have passed since the Texas Education Agency’s occupation of Houston ISD began. With just weeks before the start of school in Houston, much...
Read MoreUnpacking the Legislature: Your Working Conditions
Northeast Houston AFT President Shonda Below with a student at Texas AFT’s Public Education Advocacy Day in March 2023. Photo by Mariana Krueger, CCR Studios. When the Texas Education Agency released the results of their now infamously ignored Teacher Vacancy Taskforce Report, their recommendations fell into three broad categories: Compensation...
Read MoreJuly 21, 2023: The Will to Thrive
Friday, July 21, 2023 The Will to Thrive So far, no statistics have motivated our state leaders to fix the chronic underfunding of our public education system. Not the fact that Texas is 39th in the nation for per-pupil funding of its public schools. Nor the fact that we are...
Read MoreTake Action: U.S. Congress Poised to Slash Education Funding by Billions
In Washington, D.C., last week, the Republican-controlled House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee announced a new bill that could result in the removal of an estimated 220,000 teaching positions nationwide.
Read MoreUnpacking the Legislature: School Privatization
Over the course of the regular legislative session, one topic cast a shadow over the entire public education conversation. It wasn't the harmful overtesting of our state’s children or our state’s severely underfunded classrooms. It was private school vouchers.
Read MoreJuly 14, 2023: ‘Starve, Shame, & Shutter’
Friday, July 14, 2023 ‘Starve, shame, & shutter’ With a $33 billion surplus available, we had high hopes. High hopes that the Texas Legislature would step up and deliver for students, educators, and school employees ahead of the upcoming school year. Yet, here we are, one regular session and two...
Read MoreUnpacking the Legislature: Higher Education
While public institutions of higher education in Texas have weathered attacks from the state Legislature before, never have those attacks been so directly targeted by lawmakers as in this session.
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