Education Newsfeed

School districts across Texas are heading into one of the most difficult budget cycles in years, with administrators warning that many districts are nearing a fiscal cliff driven by declining enrollment, inflation, expiring federal funds, rising insurance and healthcare costs, and holes in a school funding system that still haven’t fully caught up with the realities districts are dealing with. Some public finance analysts estimate that at minimum, 40% of Texas districts co

The House Public Education committee met in Austin on Mon., June 1 to take up three charges all related to House Bill (HB) 2: Implementation of HB 2 Teacher Recruitment and Retention Investment in Special Education This was a 231-page bill, so the hearing to assess its impact during 2026-2026 was proportionately long. Stay with us, readers. Implementation of HB 2 The first panel represented Texas Education Agency (TEA) leadership and went through each of the articles

A look ahead to the June 1st House Public Education Committee's second interim hearing of the year.

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.

A reminder to submit public comment about changes to the social studies curriculum and literary lists.

The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), recently approved a new testing schedule for “The Nation’s Report Card” that allows for state-level results in grade 12 math, reading and civics; and grade 8 science and civics. The updated schedule would take effect in 2028 for grade 8 civics and grade 12 math and reading. The grade 8 science test would be administered in 2029 and seniors would take a

Texas Education Agency staff showcased the new and publicly available Educator Misconduct Dashboard. We have written extensively about Senate Bill (SB) 571--its reporting requirements and misconduct consequences. One feature of the bill was a requirement to establish an internet portal that aggregates this information. Broadly, the portal exhibits the number and types of reports (violence, inappropriate relationships, etc.), progress on investigations, and sanctions imposed.

The SBOE opened the official public comment windows for the proposals that were voted on at its April meeting. We invited concerned parents and teachers to submit comments on the required literary list that correlate to the K-12 English language arts standards and the K-8 Spanish language arts and reading. SBOE Proposed Rules At the April SBOE meeting, Texas AFT testified that the lists were too long and may rob teaching from other areas of ELAR or SLAR instruction, also leav

Texas University Systems are meeting this month to review and vote on proposed system policies. With each quarterly meeting, regents continue to introduce and approve policies that encroach on course curriculum and faculty teaching methods. The University of Texas, Texas Tech, University of North Texas, and Texas State University systems all held their committee meetings this past week, and our Texas AAUP-AFT members stood alongside students and alumni to stand up to policie

Attendees gather at the 2023 Public Education Advocacy Day, rallying with signs for respect for public schools. Photo by: CCR Studios. For years, conversations about Texas public schools have revolved around test scores, accountability ratings, vouchers, and curriculum fights, but two newer sets of numbers tell a different story about what is happening inside schools across the state. Texas is losing students before graduation, and at the same time, schools are struggling to

Current voter turnout is low for the Primary Run-off Election on May 26. Elections in November are won now by selecting strong nominees for the General Elections who we can count on to fight for public schools and our educators. If we don't show up now, we are giving an advantage to those who want to keep things exactly as they are, eroding public education and increasing our cost of living. As educators, we have long been experiencing the increase in cost of living, the at

The House Public Education Committee met on May 11 to address two parts of their interim charges list: HB 1481 and the State of Education. But also looming over the hearing was the specter of enrollment drops.

Texas AFT's 2025-2026 membership sruvey results do not paint a bright picture of the real state of public education.

The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) met in Austin Friday, Apr. 24 for it’s second regular meeting of the year. The actions of the board will have broad impacts and consequences for educator preparation and discipline in the coming months and years.

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

The House Public Education committee will meet in Austin Monday, May 11 for the first of at least a few hearings to discuss their interim charges for the 89th Legislature.