The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) met in Austin on July 23 and 24 to discuss their pending work and take up a few action items. Each July, the SBEC conducts a work session to preview their workstreams and rulemaking duties for the coming year. After a legislative session,...
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Parents, educators, and students rallied outside the AFT Convention in July 2024, protesting the Texas Education Agency’s takeover of Houston ISD and appointed Superintendent Mike Miles’s so-called “reforms” in the district. Photo by Mariana Krueger, CCR Studios. On Wednesday, the...
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 31, 2025 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org Statement from Texas AFT President Zeph Capo on House Bill 4 and the proposed set of new congressional districts released this week: “We as Texans have let this state’s so-called ‘leaders’ divide us along party lines for too long....
Read MoreThis special session of the 89th Legislature opened with no movement on STAAR reform or other priority education legislation. Instead, congressional redistricting has emerged as the dominant issue, fundamentally reshaping legislative priorities. Republicans have launched a rare mid-decade redraw of congressional districts, reportedly seeking to create up to five...
Read MoreWhen lawmakers rolled out House Bill 2 in the 89th Legislature, they promised a historic investment in public education. As the bill worked its way through the legislative process, the contents of the bill changed repeatedly, and educators across Texas were left wondering what actually ended up in the final...
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A sign held by a member at our June rally outside of Sen. Ted Cruz’s office, protesting his support of defunding the Department of Education and adding a private voucher program to the federal budget bill. Photo by Brooke Jonsson, CCR Studios. On Monday, Texas AFT joined school districts,...
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Texas AFT United members visit a lawmaker’s office during the 89th legislative session and discuss the need for our Educator’s Bill of Rights. This plank in your Educator’s Bill of Rights states that “safety is a prerequisite for learning.” If our educators and students do not feel secure in...
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Without Court Intervention, Unlawful Funding Freeze will Endanger Academic Programs and Staffing Across the Nation
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The youngest speaker at our Public Education Advocacy Day this past March. Our members brought copies of the Educator’s Bill of Rights to meet with their legislators. When we began our work on your 89th legislative agenda, working conditions were top of mind for members. One particular issue began to...
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On Monday, Texas lawmakers will return to Austin for a special session of the 89th Legislature, as required by Gov. Greg Abbott's formal call on July 12. Among the issues listed in the governor’s proclamation are improving flood warning systems, cutting property taxes, regulating hemp-derived products, and, most controversially, drawing...
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The State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) will meet in Austin on July 24 and 25. The agenda for Friday’s meeting is relatively light with only a few action items. One item of note is the designation of a temporary suspension committee required by Senate Bill (SB) 571. This bill...
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The Texas A&M University System is joining with other public university systems in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina to create a new accrediting body, the “Commission for Public Higher Education.” This comes after the passage of Senate Bill 530, which loosens regulations on how public colleges and...
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