Publish Date: June 2, 2025 10:49 am Author: Texas AFT
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Friday, May 30, 2025
You asked. We answered.
As we careen toward the end of the 89th Legislature (June 2), you’d be forgiven for feeling a bit lost on where major education bills stand. A record 8,607 bills were filed by the filing deadline, hundreds ran the gauntlet of committee hearings, and along the way, substitute versions have come and gone and bills have been amended and folded into one another.
In this week’s Hotline, we address some of the questions we received in the past week. Questions like this one from Wendy M.:
Q:“Will National Board Certification still be counted within the Teacher Incentive Allotment for a designation? Will only existing NBC teachers still be able to achieve the designation? Or will teachers who are just starting their journey toward NBC be able to achieve the designation for TIA?”
A:Yes, in the latest version of HB 2 (passed by the Senate, pending final approval in the House), National Board Certification is still recognized, but at a reduced incentive level (acknowledged). As for teachers starting their NBC journey, the bill puts continued recognition in the hands of the State Board for Educator Certification.
In this week’s Hotline:
Status updates on major good & bad pre-K12 bills
Need-to-know info on higher ed bills
Major win on Department of Education layoffs
Congressional spotlight on Austin Community College
As we enter the final days of the 89th regular session of the Texas Legislature, the clock is ticking. Key deadlines are fast approaching or have passed ahead of Sine Die, the last day of session, on June 2.
Read the full story to learn where the most critical education bills stand, what they do, and what needs to happen next.
With the end of the 89th legislative session in sight, we have a good understanding of which bills are expected to make it to law, and which are dead in the water. There are only three days left until the last day of the session, also known as Sine Die.
Several major deadlines have already passed. Bills that have passed both the House and the Senate are either on their way to the governor’s desk or in a conference committee, where final disagreements on bills are hashed out between the chambers. Sunday, June 1, is the last day for the House to either adopt conference committee reports (CCRs) or discharge House conferees and concur in Senate amendments.
Read the online story to learn where the major higher education bills stand in the process, what they do, and what’s next.
Show your union pride! This June, represent your union – and keep cool – while supporting our political education efforts at store.texasaft.org! All store purchases are a direct donation to our Committee on Political Education (COPE). This month, take 10% off our Pride merch with code PRIDE2025 at checkout!
Money-starved schools. School employee layoffs. Student program cuts. Educators heading for the exits.
That’s the reality right now for Texas public schools and the 5 million+ kids they serve. And that’s the backdrop for the 89th Legislature.
Join Texas AFT for a special May Day edition of our livestream legislative updates as we report back to you what’s happening at the Capitol, what it means for your school, and what you can do to advocate for yourself, your kids, and your community.
In a significant legal victory for educators and public education advocates, a federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction halting the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and reinstate over 1,300 employees who were laid off in March.
The ruling, delivered by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, came in response to lawsuits filed by AFT, Massachusetts school districts, and a coalition of 21 attorneys general. The plaintiffs argued that the administration’s actions violated federal law and would severely impair the department’s ability to fulfill its congressionally mandated responsibilities, including special education support, financial aid distribution, and civil rights enforcement.
Austin Community College Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart made history this week as the only Texas voice, and the only community college leader, to testify at a U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on the future of higher education. Invited by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Lowery-Hart spotlighted ACC’s bold free tuition program, approved in April 2024, for in-district high school graduates and called on lawmakers to center community colleges in national policy discussions.
ACC’s tuition-free program has already boosted enrollment by 40% and increased student retention. Lowery-Hart called the model “transformative” and urged Congress to consider its potential for reshaping higher education equity. He also sounded the alarm on proposed cuts to Pell Grants for part-time students, warning that 5,000 ACC students could lose the aid they rely on to finish workforce programs that bolster the economy and provide upward social mobility for many students.
Education news from around the state and nation that’s worth your time.
📖 Latest school funding bill heads back to TX House. As school districts across Texas continue to work around budget shortfalls, members of American Federation of Teachers-Texas hope the latest version of the school funding bill before lawmakers will help. (Public News Service, May 28)
📖 New study shows lasting effects of Texas’ ID requirements to vote by mail. Some county election officials across Texas say the number of people voting by mail has dropped since 2020, but they’re not sure why. New research suggests that the recent overhaul of state election laws could explain some of the drop. (Votebeat Texas, May 28)
📖 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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