This past week, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced committee assignments for the 88th legislative session. In his second session as speaker of the Texas House, Phelan dramatically changed the leadership and membership of several key Texas House committees. Rep. Brad Buckley (R-Killeen) will now head the House Public Education...
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This week's Hotline is sponsored by Texas AFT corporate supporter Horace Mann. Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 Gov. Abbott Ups the Ante on ‘School Choice’ Debate Despite National Voucher Horror Stories State funding for public education is under siege on several fronts. The specter of school privatization threatens the foundations of...
Read MoreFriday, Jan. 27, 2023 As Texas public schools beg for funding, Texas charter schools … buy luxury horse ranches. This year, National School Choice Week fell just a week after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proclaimed before the Legislature that he and Gov. Greg Abbott are “all in” on “school choice.” ...
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This past Monday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced assignments for Texas Senate committees for the 88th legislative session. The 31 Texas senators were each assigned to the 15 standing senate committees and a 16th special committee on redistricting. In order to guarantee compliance with the Texas Constitution, which mandates that...
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Recognizing Important Texans February is Black History Month, an important time for educators and students to celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of Black people throughout history and acknowledge the struggles and injustices of the past and present. Each week of Black History Month, Texas AFT will highlight a Black Texan...
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The second week of the 88th Texas legislative session kicked off with the inaugurations of Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Both gave speeches that had serious implications for Texas public education. Apart from both Abbott and Patrick signaling support for private school vouchers, which would take money...
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Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 This week’s Hotline starts with a reminder: Words matter. What happens in the Legislature has consequences. Over the past month, a variety of rumors about Texas education have sprung up on social media and taken root. In December, tweets began circulating that claimed Dallas ISD teachers...
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jan. 10, 2022 CONTACT: press@texasaft.org The Agenda for the 88th Legislature? Respect for Public Schools Educators’ union releases a list of legislative priorities intended to retain teachers and staff, fund schools appropriately, and make schools safer for students AUSTIN, Texas — As members were sworn in to...
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined onto multistate amicus briefs in two lawsuits challenging the Biden Administration and its student loan debt forgiveness program announced last year. President Biden’s executive order directed the Department of Education to take steps to expand relief for student loan borrowers by making more...
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An Educator's Bill of Rights We are losing educators in droves in Texas schools, from teachers to bus drivers to classroom aides to librarians. Even in higher education, faculty and staff are heading for the exits. Those losses have a ripple effect, making day-to-day tasks harder for the staff who...
Read MoreReminder: Take the 2022 Texas AFT Membership Survey by Dec. 9 Last year, our members’ answers in our annual survey helped us change the narrative in Texas and force state leaders to deal with the real issue for our public schools: respect. This year, we need your input as...
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We have prepared this online Back-to-School Resource Bank to provide you and your family with important issue and benefit updates. We build power by increasing participation in the union movement, by winning elections and the public narrative, and by engaging members and communities. Building community inside and outside our union...
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