In the 88th Legislature, our union’s top priority is to fight for the additional resources our schools need to keep our students and school employees safe, healthy, and thriving.
And that means, first and foremost, we’re focused on advocating for bills that give educators and school employees the respect they deserve.
Bills to Watch in the 88th Legislature
Thousands of bills have been filed by Texas legislators for the 88th legislative session.
Among them are bills that align with our Respect Agenda and could be hugely important to educators and students:
- Salaries
- Working conditions & classroom policy
- Schedules & work year
- Retirement
- School funding
- School safety
- Staff retention
But there are also bills that pose real threats to our agenda circulating in the Legislature, like private school voucher programs that would drain much-needed funding from public education. See what’s moving below and find actions you can take right now.
Read Our Respect Agenda
Our members have made clear that they have been disrespected for too long, and now it’s time for elected officials to Respect Us or Expect Us.
Sign Up to Testify in Austin
The people who write education policy need to hear directly from the Texans who work in this state’s classrooms, school buses, and school buildings.
Write Letters to the Editor
When you submit our online form, Texas AFT will email you our guide to writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and speaking to your community.
Respect for Our Paychecks
| Bill No. | Filed by | What It Does | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| House Bill 202 | Rep. John Bucy (D-Round Rock) | Provides full-time employees of state agencies and higher education institutions with a $10,000 raise. Part-time employees are entitled to a similar raise, prorated for how many hours they work. | Referred to House Appropriations Committee |
| House Bill 770 | Rep. Alma Allen (D-Houston) | Provides a $4,000 raise for educators. | Referred to House Appropriations Committee |
| House Bill 991 | Rep. Terry Meza (D-Irving) | Establishes a minimum wage for school bus drivers of $15 per hour or matching the federal minimum wage if higher. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 1548 | Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock) | Provides a $15,000 raise for teachers and certified staff and a 25% raise for support staff. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 4586 | Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) | Provides a $10,000 raise for teachers and certified staff and a 15% raise for support staff. Also increases the basic allotment (state funding for schools) in relation to the Consumer Price Index (inflation). | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
Take Action
Call Your Representative
The House’s budget provides a minuscule increase basic allotment that would give teachers just a few hundred dollars for a raise. Meanwhile, representatives voted down a $10,000 raise. They need to hear from you.
Call Your Senator
The Senate has passed a bill that would give most Texas teachers just a $2,000 pay raise and provide nothing for our paraprofessionals and support staff. There’s still time to change this before the state budget is finalized.
Write Rep. Ken King
House Bill 100 has passed out of the House Public Education Committee. While it includes a small raise for teachers, it has nothing for support staff. We need Rep. Ken King, the bill’s author, to amend HB 100 before it’s voted on.
Respect for Our Classrooms
| Bill No. | Filed by | What It Does | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| House Bill 4257 | Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) | Allows teachers to collectively bargain | Referred to House Ways & Means Committee |
| House Bill 45 | Rep. Christina Morales (D-Houston) | Adds Ethnic Studies to foundation curriculum. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 97 | Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) | Walks back some of the censorship rules placed on teachers and students during the last legislative session | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 337 | Rep. John Bucy (D-Round Rock) | Eliminates certain state-required end-of-course assessment instruments not required by federal law and eliminates graduation requirements based on satisfactory performance on certain end-of-course assessments | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 2938 | Rep. Alma Allen (D-Houston) | Removes the ability of Districts of Innovation to exempt themselves from class-size restrictions and requires all schools to report excessive class sizes on the school website, regardless of whether a waiver is granted. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 2939 | Rep. Alma Allen (D-Houston) | Removes the ability of Districts of Innovation to exempt themselves from class-size restrictions, employment protections, and the Safe Schools Act. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 4230 | Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) | Expands 22:1 student to teacher ratio requirement to grades 5 through 8, and make it more difficult to subvert these requirements. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
Take Action
While the House Public Education Committee wastes time hearing voucher bills that would hurt public schools, it’s not taking action on bills that would solve real problems and keep teachers and staff in our schools.
Smaller class sizes, reduced paperwork, and less testing. That’s what we need.
Respect for Our Schedules
| Bill No. | Filed by | What It Does | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| House Bill 2172 | Rep. Alma Allen (D-Houston) | Requires school district planning and decision-making committees to be in place so they can review issues with redundant or excessive paperwork. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 2695 | Rep. Venton Jones (D-Dallas) | Requires the board of trustees of each school district to adopt policy establishing benchmarks for the amount of square feet a school custodian may be assigned to for maintenance and custodial service. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 2942 | Rep. Alma Allen (D-Houston) | Relates to the applicability of educator certification and contracts requirements to Districts of Innovation. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 4963 | Rep. Alma Allen (D-Houston) | Requires contracts to specify the number of days of service an educator is required to work and provides educators with additional compensation if they work more than that allotted amount. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
Take Action
There are several key bills that would reduce school employee workloads and mandate reasonable, respectful schedules.
None of them have been given a hearing by the House Public Education Committee, and we are running out of time in this legislative session.
Respect for Our Retirement
| Bill No. | Filed by | What It Does | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate Bill 109 & House Bill 332 | Sen. Jose Menéndez (D-San Antonio) & Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg) | Provides Teacher Retirement System retirees with a one-time cost-of-living adjustment. | Referred to Senate Finance Committee & House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee |
| House Bill 160 | Rep. John Bucy (D-Round Rock) | Provides Teacher Retirement System retirees with a one-time cost-of-living adjustment. | Referred to House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee |
| House Bill 301 | Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) | Provides Teacher Retirement System retirees with a one-time 6% cost-of-living adjustment. | Referred to House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee |
Take Action
It is far past time that retired Texas educators receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their TRS pensions. With the state’s budget surplus at historically high levels, the Texas Legislature must act this session.
There are several bills that would do this in both the House and the Senate, but they need hearings before they can get a vote.
Well-Funded Public Schools
| Bill No. | Filed by | What It Does | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| House Bill 882 | Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) | Increases the basic allotment (state funding for schools) in relation to the Consumer Price Index (inflation). | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 31 / House Bill 135 | Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) / Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) | Requires that public schools be funded based on enrollment, instead of attendance. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| Senate Bill 822 | Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) | Provides special grants for community schools | Referred to Senate Education Committee |
Safe Public Schools
| Bill No. | Filed by | What It Does | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| House Bill 1139 & Senate Bill 1919 | Rep. Shawn Thierry (D-Houston) & Sen . Borris Miles (D-Houston) | Requires school districts to employ one full-time registered nurse at each campus and maintain an average nurse-to-student ratio of 1-to-750. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| Senate Bill 193 / House Bill 1061 | Sen. Borris Miles (D-Houston) & Rep. Bobby Guerra (D-McAllen) | Requires schools to notify parents and guardians if a campus lacks a full-time nurse. | Referred to Senate Education Committee / Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| Senate Bill 205 | Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) | Repeals campus carry requirements for state higher education institutions. | Referred to Senate State Affairs Committee |
| House Bill 1806 | Rep. Penny Morales Shaw (D-Houston) | Prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. | Referred to House International Relations & Economic Development Committee |
| Senate Bill 145 | Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) | Increases the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21. | Referred to Senate State Affairs Committee |
| Senate Bill 170 | Sen. César Blanco (D-El Paso) | Requires an instant criminal background check for certain private firearm transfers. | Referred to Senate State Affairs Committee |
Fully Staffed Public Schools
| Bill No. | Filed by | What It Does | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate Bill 89 | Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) | Makes the children of public school educators eligible for the state’s free pre-Kindergarten program. | Referred to Senate Education Committee |
| House Bill 1061 | Rep. Bobby Guerra (D-McAllen) | Requires districts to notify families about the availability of nurses on the campus of a public or open-enrollment charter school | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 1139 | Rep. Shawn Thierry (D-Houston) | Requires 1 full-time nurse per 750 students enrolled in a public school district. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 1281 / House Bill 2176 / House Bill 1854 | Rep. Jolanda Jones (D-Houston) / Rep. Sheryl Cole (D-Austin) / Rep. Shawn Thierry (D-Houston) | Requires school districts to notify families if a public school or open-enrollment charter school does not have a nurse assigned to the campus during all instructional hours. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 2694 | Rep. Venton Jones (D-Dallas) | Requires schools to notify parents and guardians if a campus lacks a full-time nurse, librarian, or school counselor. | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
Threats to Our Respect Agenda
| Bill No. | Filed by | What It Does | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate Bill 8 | Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) | Voucher program that provides families who leave the public school system or are enrolling in pre-K or kindergarten for the first time with $8,000 to be spent on tuition and fees at an accredited private school | Passed in Senate, 19-12 |
| House Bill 1507 | Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian) | Prohibits public school programs dedicated to celebrating or providing special instruction regarding a sexual preference (e.g., LGBTQIA+ Pride) and authorizes up to a $10,000 fine against educators | Pending in House Public Education Committee |
| House Bill 2890 | Rep. Charles Cunningham (R-Humble) | Changes the rejection of open-enrollment charter school application by the State Board of Education from a majority to supermajority | Passed out of House Public Education Committee, 9-4 |
| House Bill 1707 | Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-North Richland Hills) | Repeals applicability of certain zoning laws to open-enrollment charter schools | Passed out of Land and Resource Management Committee, 5-2 |
| House Bill 4640 | Rep. Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth) | Eliminates payroll deduction for union dues for school employees | Referred to House Public Education Committee |
| Senate Bill 17 | Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), Sen. Phil King (R-Weatherford), Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), Sen. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound), Sen. Angela Paxton (R-Allen), Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Bryan), Sen. Drew Springer (R-Wichita Falls) | Bans Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion policies in higher education | Passed out of Senate Education Committee, 8-2 |
Take Action
Higher education in Texas is under attack on multiple fronts this legislative session. Dozens of bills are being considered that would attack academic freedom, tenure, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
If we want Texas universities to remain the pillar of high-quality education nationwide, your legislator needs to hear from you.