The State Board of Education (SBOE) will hold its regular meeting in Austin next week. We will be closely watching several items, with special focus on those related to proposed science textbooks and charter schools.
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Friday, August 18, 2023 Reading opens the world. Will Texas let it? The latest issue of AFT’s American Educator magazine is a special one, dedicated to addressing literacy, learning loss, and loneliness among our students. The goal is to lay out strategies — proven by research and practiced by educators...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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This week's Hotline is brought to you by Horace Mann. Friday, June 23, 2023 One Judson AFT member pictured at Thursday’s school board meeting. Together We Thrive It simply isn’t enough for Texas public schools to survive (which many of them are struggling to do at all, especially in rural...
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The State Board of Education (SBOE) will hold its regular meeting in Austin next week. We will be closely watching several items, with special focus on those related to proposed science textbooks and charter schools. The meeting will begin Aug. 29 with a public hearing on Proclamation 2024, which includes...
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While the private school voucher threat has temporarily been abated, another bill that would allow for the rapid expansion of charter schools, which also divert public dollars to private institutions, was resurrected. HB 1707, the priority bill of the charter industry, would exempt charter schools from local zoning ordinances, effectively...
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Apart from all of the attention directed at private school vouchers at the Legislature this week, several other bills that would significantly affect Texas public school educators and higher education employees are still making their way through the legislative process. Public Education: In Committee This week, the House Public Education...
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This Tuesday, May 2, was national Teacher Appreciation Day. This week, the Texas Legislature continued to offer educators little in terms of meaningful respect, but much in terms of meaningless platitudes and token displays. Teacher Appreciation Day: House Committees Receive Testimony, Texas AFT Members Demand Respect The House Public Education...
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