Texas AFT member Rebekah Ozuna (left) testifies late in the evening at the joint committee hearing This Tuesday, the House Committee on Public Education and the House Committee on Higher Education held a joint hearing to discuss solutions to the teacher retention crisis. The marathon hearing lasted 12 hours and...
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“We do this work because the experiences of our students and our wider community and our work cannot be separated.” That sentiment from Karen Reyes, an Austin ISD teacher and Education Austin board member, framed a virtual discussion on immigration and education hosted by Texas AFT’s Committee on Higher Education...
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HIGHER EDUCATION Texas AFT is proud to represent faculty and higher education professionals in community colleges and universities. AAUP Salary Report The AAUP’s "Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession 2021-22” headlines falling wages for full-time faculty. Student Debt Five ways the AFT fights student debt, plus: a survey...
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Republicans and Democrats alike — with districts spanning from rural agricultural communities to dense urban areas — have begun speaking out in support of the priorities of our Respect Campaign, among them: safe working conditions, fair pay, reasonable workloads, and...
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The San Antonio Alliance held a “Community Town Hall, BBQ, and Art Build” to prepare for a May 16 rally calling for higher pay, smaller class sizes, and a focus on health and safety. Our recent report—“The Lost Decade: Texas schools are underfunded & facing devastating staffing shortages”—showed how school...
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Sen. Brandon Creighton Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has appointed Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) to chair the Education Committee during the interim and will keep him as chair of the Higher Education Committee. However, Patrick intends to make the Higher Education Committee a subcommittee of the Education Committee in the next...
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Governor Greg Abbott recently announced the release of an additional $123.3 million in education funding appropriated to Texas by Congress as part of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund. With this latest release of federal funds, the state has directed over $362 million to higher education and $67.5 million...
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The Hotline will take a holiday break and will return on Friday, January 7. On behalf of our entire staff at Texas AFT, I want to wish you a Happy Holiday Break! You’ve worked hard in a challenging time, and...
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Board also approves new rules on teacher sanctions This past Friday, the State Board for Educator Certification met for its quarterly board meeting to receive comments from TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, discuss the proposed implementation of a new teacher certification assessment, implement new rules on teacher sanctions, and consider the...
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Texas AFT Higher Education Committee explores the 'Intersection of Immigration and Education' “We do this work because the experiences of our students and our wider community, and our work can not be separated.” That sentiment from Karen Reyes, an Austin...
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Christine Jones Christine Jones found the traditional college experience to be difficult with the lack of financial aid, the need to take on student loans, and the struggle of balancing a commute while working full-time. Then Hurricane Harvey came and...
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:March 11, 2020 CONTACT:Rob D’Amico, 512-627-1343, rdamico@texasaft.org Teacher unions will highlight the needs of our schools in the pandemic with car caravans and other events What: We’ve seen the power of our teachers’ collective voice as Texas finally prioritized school employees for vaccinations. Now we need to turn...
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