State legislators began pre-filing bills for the upcoming 89th legislative session last month. While we are excited by a slew of bills that have been filed advancing key priorities in our Educator’s Bill of Rights, we are equally concerned by a record number of bad bills that would threaten those priorities.
There’s no way to sugarcoat this: Texas public schools, colleges, and universities are under attack by extremist politicians and big-money donors. Even a month before the 89th Legislature begins, we are tracking bills that would restrict what teachers can teach, limit students’ access to library materials, and divert funding away from public schools.
Here’s a closer look at some of the worst proposals we’ve seen so far.
Private School Voucher Schemes
- HB 212 by Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Baytown)
- HB 612 by Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano)
- HB 984 by Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands)
These bills would take money away from public schools and give it to parents to send their children to private schools. This would weaken public schools and leave behind the students who need them most.
School Library Book Bans
- HB 183 by Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco)
This bill would allow politicians to decide what books students can and can’t read. This is an attempt to “fix” HB 900 from the previous session by transferring the rating of “sexually explicit and sexually relevant materials” from the publishers to the State Board of Education (SBOE), possibly making moot the lawsuit that is currently preventing full implementation of the previous bill. This is a dangerous attack on intellectual freedom and students’ right to a well-rounded education.
Curriculum Censorship
- HB 1279 by Rep.-elect Alan Schoolcraft (R-McQueeney)
- HB 344 by Rep. Carl Tepper (R-Lubbock)
- SB 86 by Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood)
These bills would restrict what teachers can say in the classroom. HB 1279 would bar educators from acknowledging that privilege or, conversely, oppression exists in our society, based on a person’s race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, or religion. HB 344 and SB 86 both would prohibit Texas educators from acknowledging and supporting students who identify as LGBTQ+ or have questions about their gender identity.
Together, these bills are an attack on academic freedom and will make it harder for teachers to effectively educate their students. In contradiction to their stated intentions, they also promise to make the learning environment more hostile for students, particularly those who come from historically marginalized communities, by ignoring the realities in which they live.
What These Bad Bills Mean
These are just a few of the harmful bills being considered in Texas, with more surely to be filed before the 89th Legislature starts on Jan. 14. These attacks on public education are driven by an ideology that seeks to divide us and weaken public institutions.
We can’t let this happen. Our public schools are the cornerstone of our communities, guaranteeing a free and fair education for all students, regardless of background or zip code.
The time to stand up for public education is now. Our children deserve better. Here are some things you can do to fight back:
- Contact your state legislators, at both their district and state offices, and tell them to oppose these bills. Likewise, tell them what you stand for too. Ask them to support real, common-sense solutions for Texas public schools, outlined in our educator-developed Educator’s Bill of Rights.
- Sign up for upcoming Texas AFT legislative updates, meetings, and trainings. Starting in January, we will host monthly virtual legislative activities, including advocacy training for those interested in testifying at the Capitol in Austin.
- Engage locally by attending school board meetings, volunteering your time at your neighborhood school, or joining your local PTA. In many ways, your local school leadership and community will act as bulwarks against attacks from Austin. Policy may be made in the Legislature, but it’s implemented every day in your school district.
Together, we can protect our public schools and ensure that all students have the opportunity to thrive.