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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 MoreAug. 11, 2023: We take care of us
Friday, August 11, 2023 Members of the Houston Federation of Teachers, along with community members, parents, and students, participate in a read-in before the Houston ISD Board of Managers meeting Thursday, Aug. 10. The protest was in response to state-installed Superintendent Mike Miles' plans to close district libraries and transform...
Read MoreUnpacking the Select Committee Report
Rep. Gina Hinojosa did not sign on to the House Select Committee’s report, instead releasing her own recommendations, outlined in the report’s appendices. Chief among her concerns: that teacher and school staff raises will once again be held hostage by private school voucher proponents. In June 2023, Speaker Dade Phelan...
Read MoreTEA Releases STAAR Test Results, Revealing Continued Post-COVID Improvements
This Wednesday, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released results from the 2023 STAAR test, including data aggregated at the state, region, district, and campus levels. Overall, the data showed marked increase in math scores, which had dipped significantly in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit. The data revealed...
Read More10 Thoughts About Austin Charter School’s ‘VIP Car Line’
HB 1707 was meant to increase charter school expansion. Instead, it will work to rein in self-dealing from charter operators.
Read MoreGet Out the Vote for a COLA with Texas AFT Retiree Plus on Tuesday 8/22
Texas AFT Retiree Plus has kicked off its efforts to win a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retired educators at the ballot box this November. Retirees are fighting to pass Proposition 9, which will provide an increase to retired educators’ pensions. Educators who have been retired for nearly two decades have...
Read MoreDo you know how your representative voted? Find out.
With a $33 billion surplus available, many educators across this state had high hopes for the 88th Legislature. Yet, here we are, one regular session and two special sessions later with no basic allotment increase and no guaranteed pay raises for teachers and school staff. Given those results, as well...
Read MoreRetired Educator COLA set as Proposition 9 on November Ballot
Last Friday, the ballot order for the Nov. 7 statewide constitutional amendment election, which will include a vote on a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to retired educator pensions, was set by the Texas Secretary of State’s office. The order of the 14 propositions on the ballot this November was determined by...
Read MoreTexas AFL-CIO Demands Action to Save Workers’ Lives
Last week, the Texas AFl-CIO launched a new letter campaign to push Gov. Greg Abbott to include statewide heat protections for Texas workers in the upcoming special session call. This summer, Texas workers have been exposed to some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Texas. In these types of...
Read MoreAug. 4, 2023: Houston, we have a problem
Friday, August 4, 2023 Alliance/AFT member and Dallas ISD teacher Rosie Curts attends a Houston community protest this summer against TEA’s takeover and Mike Miles’ appointment as superintendent. It starts in Houston. It doesn’t end there. We start this week with a message from Texas AFT President Zeph Capo and...
Read MoreLocal Businesses Sue Texas over “Book Ban Bill”
Last week, a coalition of Texas-based book sellers and several bookstore associations filed a lawsuit against Texas over HB 900, the book ban bill passed during the legislative session. Under HB 900 by Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), private book vendors, not school librarians or elected officials, would assign ratings to these...
Read MoreAcademic Freedom Under Fire At Texas A&M
The Texas A&M University System has been accused of making politically motivated attacks on the employment of two highly respected university professors. These two separate cases of apparent political interference in the administration of one of Texas’ top public university systems comes in the wake of broad attacks against academic...
Read MoreAFT Releases New Report Connecting Social Media to Mental Health Crisis
Last month, the American Federation of Teachers, along with the American Psychological Association, Fairplay, ParentsTogether and Design It For Us, released a new, groundbreaking report pointing to social media companies as a “root cause” of the nationwide mental health crisis. The report, entitled “Likes vs. Learning: The Real Cost of...
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