After months of legal back-and-forth, the Texas Education Agency has released its long-delayed A–F accountability ratings for the 2022–23 school year. This comes after a Texas appellate court ruled earlier this month that TEA could move forward with the release, despite widespread criticism from school districts and education advocates.
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This week’s attack on mixed-status students in the Senate Education K-16 Committee comes amid a broader attack on international students. As of today, more than 260 international students in Texas have had their visas revoked, as well as at least...
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Over the past two weeks, the Texas House has witnessed dramatic and defining developments in the fight over school finance and the introduction of private school vouchers. We have a breakdown of where things stand on those fronts, along with your recap of good and bad bills heard and voted...
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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...
Read MoreEagle-eyed Hotline readers will wonder why we are jumping straight to a recap of the State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting without ever previewing the agenda. This is because without notice, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) ended a decades-long practice of hosting an in-person meeting with stakeholders to preview the...
Read MoreThis week, the House Higher Education Committee heard more bills aimed at addressing health care workforce shortages by incentivizing students and funding health institutions. While the House committee continues its important work to support our higher education institutions, the Senate continues its rampage against academic freedom. Senate Bill 37, the...
Read MoreOur union is continuously monitoring developments with the Department of Education and proposed Trump Administration changes to how federal education funding and services are delivered to states. Recently, as several states have put forward proposals to “cut strings” tied to federal education dollars, we’ve fielded many questions from educators and...
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 16, 2025 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org Governor Abbott calls in President Trump to bail him out with his own caucus. AUSTIN, Texas – Today, the Texas House gave initial approval to Senate Bill 2, the private school voucher scam legislation. Never one to fight his own...
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 16, 2025 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org Small increase to the basic allotment means underfunded schools will continue to struggle. AUSTIN, Texas – Today, the Texas House of Representatives gave initial approval to House Bill 2, its attempt at a school finance bill. Both the process and...
Read MoreFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 15, 2025 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org ICYMI: Educator argues vouchers won’t help her most vulnerable students Parents and educators joined State Rep. James Talarico for a statewide TV interview. AUSTIN, Texas – Yesterday, Nexstar television stations across the state aired a special broadcast, “Texas Education: Funding...
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On Thursday, legislators in the Texas House discussed their version of the state budget deep into the night. Hundreds of amendments were proposed, but fewer were actually voted upon, let alone debated. Unfortunately, budget writers affiliated with House leadership made a deal early on to stifle debate on important amendments...
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It was another light week in the House Higher Education Committee, with the hearing mainly focusing on college accessibility. Chairman Terry Wilson laid out his bills House Bill 4909 and HB 4912. By establishing a new “My Texas Future”...
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