We wish each of you a happy and safe Independence Day and holiday weekend. As it so often does, summer seems to be flying by. Before you know it, the school year will be here (sorry).
Between federal government actions and the 89th Legislature, much will have changed for pre-K-12 and higher education employees and students. We’re here to help you make sense of it all and understand what you’re walking into this fall.
What the Legislature did on your working conditions
Good news (?!) from the State Board of Education
Texas AFL-CIO convention
The “Big, Beautiful Bill”
— Texas Legislature
An Alliance/AFT member listening to a panel discussion about educator well-being at Texas AFT’s biennial convention in June. Photo by Brooke Jonsson, CCR Studios.
As we continue our fight for the Educator’s Bill of Rights at the local and state level, we’re tracking progress on legislation that supports key pillars of respect, fair compensation, safety, and professional growth for educators and school staff.
Our2022Texas Needs Teachers report found that working conditions were even more important than compensation in retaining educators, by an almost 2-to-1 ratio. When the state underfunds local school districts, teachers and staff are saddled with more duties, exacerbating high turnover rates and hiring costs. Ultimately, it’s our students’ academic and emotional well-being that suffers.
Several bipartisan bills this session offered meaningful steps toward the goals of improving working and learning conditions — while others lay a foundation but need strengthening.
Northside AFT President Melina Espiritu-Azocar testified Wednesday against Unidos Soccer Leadership Academy.
The State Board of Education convened in Austin on Tuesday, June 24, and concluded Friday, June 27.
The four-day agendaprovided the opportunity to approve or veto the Generation 30 (2025) charter applications, as well as hear updates on instructional materials, the Permanent School Fund (PSF), math and social studies standards, and innovative courses, among other items.
Last weekend, over 450 union delegates from across the state gathered in San Antonio for the 2025 Texas AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention. Texas AFT was well-represented by many of our local leaders and members; coming just a week after our own biennial convention, the chance to come together in community with our extended labor family was even more energizing.
After weeks of grandstanding and chaos, President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has now passed both chambers of Congress.
Trump has dubbed it his crown jewel. But for working families, it’s a dagger: a Frankenstein bill packed with tax breaks for the rich, deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, and a scorched-earth energy agenda.
What’s in the Bill
Cuts nearly a trillion dollars from Medicaid, the largest cut ever to this vital, life-saving program
Kicks 11.8 million people off Medicaid health coverage
Adds $4.1 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years
Represents the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in U.S. history
You made it through another school year … and what a year it was. Now that it’s over, it’s time for you to take a much-needed, well-deserved break. We hope you take some time to relax and enjoy your summer. And as always, your local Horace Mann representative is just a phone call or email away if you need anything.
Have a great summer!
Horace Mann Service Corporation and certain of its affiliates (Horace Mann) enter into agreements with educational associations where Horace Mann pays the association to provide services aimed at familiarizing association members with the Horace Mann brand, products or services. For more information, email your inquiry to association.relations@horacemann.com.
EMI-00274 (5-22)
Recommended Reading
Education news from around the state and nation that’s worth your time.
📖$6 billion school funding freeze sparks outcry over ‘cruel betrayal’ of students. State officials and teacher union leaders are reeling after President Donald Trump’s decision Tuesday to freeze over $6 billion in federal K-12 education funding for the upcoming school year — a move critics say will further kneecap schools after mass cuts and layoffs at the Department of Education earlier this year raised widespread fears about the future of public education in the United States. (The 19th News, July 2)
📖Wealthy families are buying homes to get in-state tuition at Texas universities.Texas lets out-of-state students buy homes to get in-state tuition. The law has fed a niche but growing industry of real estate agents who specialize not only in buying homes, but also helping primarily California, Illinois and New York-bred students use these homes to save tens of thousands of dollars on a degree from a public university. (KUT, July 1)
📖Wrestling with the American Dream.Traditional Afghan wrestling—known as Pehlwani—is a popular pastime for boys in the south-central Asian nation, so many Afghan refugees find a natural home on high school wrestling teams in America. In Texas, it’spretty much happening in one place: San Antonio’s West Side, and thanks to one person: Faridullah “Ferrari” Samsor. (Texas Observer, June 16)
📖 The Lege’s ‘Big Government Intrusion’ into University Academics. Expanding on last session’s anti-DEI campus crackdown, some Republicans in the Legislature are now going after gender and ethnic studies programs and faculty independence. (Texas Observer, April 24)
🎧 The Shocking Billionaire Plot to Dismantle Public Education. Texas is on the verge of passing a law that could defund public education. Vouchers send public taxpayer dollars to private schools. It could cost taxpayers $10 billion by 2030. And it could destroy Friday Night Lights. (More Perfect Union, April 22)
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