Education Newsfeed

On Tuesday, Texas AFT joined ongoing litigation against Senate Bill 12, a new state law that bans gay-straight alliance (GSA) clubs, prevents educators from using students’ chosen names and pronouns, and prohibits diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts from public and charter K-12 schools. The lawsuit, filed by GSA Network and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas… [ more ]

Today, Texas AFT joined ongoing litigation against Senate Bill 12, a new state law that bans gay-straight alliance (GSA) clubs, prevents educators from using students’ chosen names and pronouns, and prohibits diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts from public and charter K-12 schools.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 13, 2025 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org Texas formalizes online hate campaigns against individual teachers AUSTIN, Texas — In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, private citizens of all political persuasions shared their thoughts on their personal social media accounts. A number of state representatives, including state Reps. Briscoe Cain and Hillary… [ more ]

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. Tearing up districts on a… [ more ]

When we began our work on your 89th legislative agenda, working conditions were top of mind for members. One particular issue began to come to the forefront: the right to high-quality affordable childcare. In our 2023-2024 Texas AFT member survey, 45% of educators who needed regular childcare said they had trouble accessing or affording it,… [ more ]

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 battles, Governor Greg Abbott relied… [ more ]

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 the substance of the bill… [ more ]

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 that would have all but… [ more ]

In his relentless quest to pass a private school voucher scheme in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott is calling in reinforcements.

After Gov. Greg Abbott and his allies in the Texas Legislature hijacked $4.5 billion in additional public education funding in a failed attempt to force the passage of universal private school voucher legislation in the 88th legislative session, public schools across Texas have paid the price as communities have seen a wave of mass layoffs, school closures, and growing budget deficits.

Following an aggressive campaign to reshape the Texas Legislature by supporting primary challenges against Republican state representatives who voted against taxpayer-funded private school vouchers in the last legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have both designated the passage of universal voucher legislation as their top priority next year and expressed confidence that they finally have the votes necessary to do so.

Despite a resounding defeat in the 88th Legislature, private school vouchers will return as a major issue in the 89th Legislature, which begins Jan. 14. After pouring money into Republican primary races to defeat anti-voucher incumbents, Gov. Greg Abbott claims he has the votes he needs to pass a voucher program; meanwhile, both he and… [ more ]

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 ]

The Texas Legislature has shown itself to be incapable of walking and chewing gum at the same time, prioritizing property tax relief over fully funding public education in the past several years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, historic inflation, and record-breaking state budget surpluses. The implications for our public schools have been dire.

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 ]