Featured News
This Week in the Legislature: Lawmakers Get an Earful on School Finance Bill HB 2 in 2-Day Committee Hearing
This week was a busy one for the House Public Education Committee, with two days of hearings dedicated to House Bill 2, Chairman Brad Buckley’s school finance bill.
Read MoreSept. 8: A Hefty SBOE Recap
Friday, September 8, 2023 Source: 2023 Charles Butt Foundation Poll 🎤 Is this thing on? The title of the latest poll from the Charles Butt Foundation says it all: “Listening to the Educator Experience.” Too few in Texas’ halls of power want to do that. That’s probably because instead of...
Read MoreSBOE Recap: Buckle Up for a Long Haul
The State Board of Education (SBOE) met for its regular meeting Aug. 29-Sept. 1 with an unusually dense agenda. Proclamation 2024 & Science Textbooks Adoption Tuesday began with a public hearing on Proclamation 2024, which includes instructional materials for many career and technical education courses (CTE). But all eyes were...
Read MoreLegislative Round-Up: Bad Bills Going Into Effect
More Bad Bill Updates From the Texas Legislature Last Friday, Sept. 1, hundreds of laws passed by the Texas Legislature earlier this year were scheduled to go into effect. Despite the planned implementation, many were stalled thanks to court-ordered injunctions. Many of these stalled bills are incredibly consequential to public...
Read MoreSenate Impeachment Trial Against AG Paxton Begins
This Tuesday, the long-awaited trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton began in the Texas Senate. Toward the end of the regular Legislature’s session, the Republican-controlled Texas House voted to impeach Paxton, a fellow Republican, after an investigation that was spurred by the Office of the Attorney General’s request to have...
Read More6 Finalists Named for 2024 Texas Teacher of the Year
Six outstanding Texas teachers have been recognized as finalists for the Texas Association of School Administrators’ 2024 Texas Teacher of the Year award. Congratulations are in order for the three elementary and three secondary finalists: Dr. Isela Russell, Lewisville ISD Taniece Thompson-Smith, Abilene ISD Genesis Yougas, McKinney ISD Naveen Cunha,...
Read MoreSept. 1, 2023: Lawsuit Season
Friday, September 1, 2023 Barbie was the hit of the summer. And so are labor unions, as it turns out. Union Made Just before Labor Day, the U.S. Treasury has released a first-of-its-kind report, outlining all the ways that supporting unionization of American workers will benefit the economy and, specifically,...
Read MoreUnmasking Vouchers: Charter Schools Now PAC
Texas has become awash in dark money seeking to influence public education over the past several years. This dark money represents political and business agendas working to undermine our public schools and degrade the quality of public education in Texas and to advance privatization and vouchers.
Read MoreHFT Sues Over ‘Illegal’ Teacher Evaluation System, Wins Temporary Restraining Order
On Wednesday, the Houston Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit against state-installed Houston Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles and the appointed board of managers for illegally developing and implementing a new teacher evaluation system, which determines teachers’ employment situation and their compensation.
Read More7 ISDs Join Lawsuit Against A-F Rating System
Late this spring, at the height of legislative chaos, Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced that he would be updating the A-F accountability system for Texas school districts to raise the bar for meeting the college, career, and military readiness (CCMR) indicator. He also announced that these new standards would apply...
Read MoreJoin Texas AFT at the Texas Tribune Festival
Texas AFT is a proud sponsor of this year's Texas Tribune Festival in downtown Austin, Sept. 21-23. The programs features more than 100 unforgettable conversations on topics including:
Read MoreLegislative Round-Up: Bad Bills Going Into Effect
Today, Sept. 1, hundreds of laws passed by the Texas Legislature earlier this year go into effect. While some bills have already gone into effect and other bills have a deferred effective date, the vast majority of bills passed during the 88th legislative session go into effect today.
Read MoreAug. 25, 2023: The Rise of Educational Intimidation
Friday, August 25, 2023 Get your yard sign at store.texasaft.org. Use code BTS2023 at checkout for 25% off. All purchases serve as donations to our union’s political fund. The Rise of Educational Intimidation House Bill 900, the Legislature’s book-banning bill passed this year, was in court last week. A U.S....
Read More