Publish Date: October 17, 2025 2:33 pm Author: Texas AFT
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Friday, October 17, 2025
No Kings
Tomorrow, millions of Americans will show up for rallies and events in more than 2,000 cities and towns for the second No Kings Day of Action. There are events planned across Texas, in communities large and small, all with the goal of peacefully protesting attacks on our democracy.
Tomorrow’s events and the No Kings movement broadly aren’t about issues of left vs. right. They’re about right vs. wrong.No matter where we come from or how we vote, we all deserve leaders who tell the truth, respect our freedoms, and put people over power.
You’ll read in today’s Hotline that the Department of Education under Secretary Linda McMahon has gutted its special education office. It is not partisan to say that is wrong.
Sheria Smith, the former president of AFGE Local 252 and lawyer in the Office of Civil Rights, speaks at a rally outside Sen. Ted Cruz’s Dallas office as part of Texas AFT’s biennial convention in June 2025. Photo by Brooke Jonsson, CCR Studios.
Even as the federal government remains closed for business, this week’s developments out of Washington, D.C., are deeply troubling for public education — and especially for students with disabilities and their families. As Texas AFT has warned in recent Hotline articles, the Trump Administration’s push to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and downsize critical offices is not a mere reorganization — it is an existential threat to the protections and services that students, educators, and families rely on.
This article was originally published by Our Schools Our Democracy, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to protecting Texas public schools. Small edits have been made for clarity.
Last week, the Texas Comptroller’s office announced that New York-based company Odyssey will administer Texas’ new voucher program, an education savings account (ESA) to be called Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA). The comptroller announced that Odyssey will “manage an end-to-end platform that…will help guide families through the application process and allow them to pay tuition to schools and shop for eligible educational resources via an e-commerce marketplace.”
Texans will once again have a chance this fall to shape the state Constitution. On Election Day, Nov. 4, voters will decide on 17 proposed constitutional amendments passed by the Legislature earlier this year. Each proposition requires majority approval to take effect. Early voting starts next week, running from Oct. 20–31.
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 public service to the Texas Senate, a body where it is sorely needed.
Every year, Texas AFT gathers data on all the conditions in our public schools, colleges, and universities that the state does not. We do so by asking the real experts: our members.
Use your voice and experience to make change in your state and shape our union’s priorities by completing our annual membership survey sent via email this past Wednesday, Oct. 15.
As a thank you for taking the time and energy to participate, you will be entered for a chance to win:
A gift card ranging from $50-$500
A copy of Randi Weingarten’s new book
And more!
We value your opinion and insight, so please do not delay. And as much as wesupportand want to hear from all educators, the survey is for Texas AFT members only. If you can’tlocatethe email with the survey link(even after checking spam), please email info@texasaft.org so we can update your information and get the link to you.
Recommended Reading
Education news from around the state and nation that’s worth your time.
📖 The Ins and Outs of Texas Increasingly Using Uncertified Teachers. Statewide, about 42,103, or 12%, ofpublic school teachers are uncertified. In Cy-Fair ISD, a new partnership between iTeach and Cy-Fair AFT aims to make the certification process affordable and accessible to paraprofessionals and support staff who want to teach. (Houston Press, Oct. 13)
📖 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)
This Education Department Official Lost His Job. Here’s What He Says Is at Risk. Fewer teachers. Incomplete data. Delays in addressing problems and getting financial aid information. Those are just some of the impacts Jason Cottrell, who worked as a data collector at the Department of Education for nine and a half years before being laid off along with more than a thousand other agency employees, warns the Trump Administration’s massive cuts to the department’s funding and workforce could have on the country’s education system. (Time, July 18)
This Education Department Official Lost His Job. Here’s What He Says Is at Risk. Fewer teachers. Incomplete data. Delays in addressing problems and getting financial aid information. Those are just some of the impacts Jason Cottrell, who worked as a data collector at the Department of Education for nine and a half years before being laid off along with more than a thousand other agency employees, warns the Trump Administration’s massive cuts to the department’s funding and workforce could have on the country’s education system. (Time, July 18)
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