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This Week in the Legislature: ‘A Damn Sad Day’ for Public Education
Under normal circumstances, the Texas Legislature is a wild and weird place. But ‘Private School Voucher Day’ at the Texas Capitol truly took the cake, from far-right conservatives offering amendments that would have increased the basic allotment by more than $1,000 to one Democrat arguing against transparency and accountability for charter schools. President Trump himself entered the conversation with a...
Read MoreNew poll of Texas school employees shows overwhelming concern about vouchers, disgust in Legislature’s inaction on funding
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 20, 2023 CONTACT: press@texasaft.org New poll of Texas school employees shows overwhelming concern about vouchers, disgust in Legislature’s inaction on funding Gov. Abbott continues his crusade for school privatization on a call with right-wing advocacy...
Read MoreUnmasking Vouchers: Texas Federation for Children
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 MoreA-F Accountability Ratings Delayed
The Texas Education Agency announced Tuesday that the 2022-2023 A-F accountability ratings, initially set for release on Sept. 28, would be delayed. This appears to be welcome news; many education advocates assumed the release of ratings (with new, revamped criteria) prior to the expected special session was intended to make...
Read MoreNext Week: Join 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 MoreWEP Improvements, Not Total Repeal, Proposed by Texas Congressman
Last week, Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) filed HR 5342 (entitled “the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act''), which would reduce the negative effects the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) has on retired teachers’ Social Security. The bill, however, would stop short of total repeal of the WEP. Instead, Arrington’s bill would...
Read MoreU.S. Senate Hearing Spotlights Texas Book Ban
This Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee convened for a special hearing to discuss book bans instituted by states and in local school districts across the country. Across the nation, right-wing activists masquerading as “parent rights” groups have called for the banning of thousands of titles at school libraries and public...
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,...
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