Education Newsfeed

Underreported and underappreciated, the Railroad Commissioner does have a role to play in education and keeping a dangerous candidate out of that office is crucial.

We put a spotlight on the role the Agriculture Commissioner plays in public education and keeping our students healthy and well-fed.

Most Texas AFT-endorsed candidates emerged victorious in Tuesday’s primary runoff elections and will head to a general election - one that has great consequences for public education.

Last week’s school board elections brought a wave of encouraging results for public education across Texas.

Following this month’s primary elections, Texas AFT endorses James Talarico for U.S. Senate. Talarico is the only pro-public education and labor candidate on the ballot this November and it is critical that he wins against either incumbent John Cornyn or the embattled Ken Paxton.

Following Rep. Hinojosa’s decisive primary win on Tuesday, labor activists and supporters gathered in downtown Houston to kick off the fight to November.

On Tuesday, labor-backed candidates won races up and down the ballot, and the energy that has been building in our movement for years has found its fullest expression yet at the polls.

Saturday’s special election in Texas Senate District 9 has sent shockwaves across the state and indeed the nation.

Texas AFT’s Committee on Political Education (COPE) is proud to endorse Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor and Montserrat Garibay to take Hinojosa’s state House seat in Austin (HD-49).

This week, election results nationwide resulted in decisive wins for candidates in local and state races who focused on real, quality-of-life issues over divisive partisan politics. In Texas, too, several local races underlined the same trend, with record off-year election turnout.

While tax rate elections and bonds by and large failed to pass on Election Day, pro-public education candidates surged in major school board races.

Today, Cy-Fair ISD voters elected three new trustees to set the direction of the school district for the next four years.

Prop A would have generated $49 million for the district without raising the tax rate

Last night, Houston voters elected two new trustees to the Houston Independent School District board in another electoral defeat for state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles.

This November, we have the opportunity to send another union member to the Texas Senate. That’s why Texas AFT’s Committee on Political Education (COPE) is proud to endorse Taylor Rehmet in the special election for Texas Senate District 9. A veteran, union president, and working-class Texan, Rehmet will bring real-world experience and deep commitment to… [ more ]

In three states, a mix of “red” and “blue,” coalitions of rural and urban voters, and of Republicans and Democrats, came together to forcefully reject sending taxpayer dollars (intended for public schools) to private schools via a voucher program.

Voters have spoken; though, 7 million registered voters in Texas sat out this election. As leaders of your union, we are deeply concerned with the direction our state will now take, specifically as it relates to public education, but we respect the will of the people who showed up and the peaceful transfer of power. … [ more ]

Across the state, dozens of school districts held Voter-Approval Tax Rate Elections (VATREs) this week seeking to generate additional local and state revenue to provide educators and school employees with enhanced raises and help meet other pressing needs such as school safety and security. These VATREs are necessary because state funding for public education has remained stagnant since 2019 despite historic inflation during that time.

In many ways, any school bond election is a referendum on trust. Do voters trust district leaders to appropriately use taxpayer dollars, numbering into the millions and billions, to improve the learning conditions of their kids?

Left: Texas AFT COPE-endorsed Democratic candidate for House District 146 Lauren Simmons, pictured at a March rally with the Houston Federation of Teachers, prevailed in Tuesday’s primary runoff election. Right: Aldine AFT members write postcards to voters on behalf of Charlene Ward Johnson, endorsed candidate for HD 139, who also prevailed on Tuesday. This past… [ more ]