Publish Date: September 19, 2025 1:50 pm Author: Texas AFT
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Friday, September 19, 2025
Freedom of Speech
The headlines this week have been jaw-dropping. Educators in K-12 and higher education were subjected to baseless online smear campaigns, one university president resigned, and the Texas Education Agency (TEA)now keeps a list of educators reported for their social media posts. Within the same week of its announcement,TEA’s list of reported educatorshas grown to 281, yet TEA has notdisclosedthe next steps or timeline for those on this list. In the meantime, we urge educators to take caution with their social media accounts. That means go private, remove your employer from your profile, and be mindful ofyour public commentary. Texas AFT is proud to vigorously defend targeted educators and their rights to due process, free expression, and academic freedom.
“As the framers envisioned, education is the path to civil debate and open inquiry—and teachers promote these founding principles of our nation every day in their classrooms.
Let’s recognize the hard work they do, particularly in the wake of this tragedy and so many others we’ve faced as a nation, to assuage students’ trauma and create safe and welcoming environments where every student can succeed.
Let’s denounce political violence, find that exit ramp, find ways to de-escalate—and let’s do it without eroding constitutional rights.”
In times of uncertainty like these it’s essential to come together, support one another, and keep on. Texas AFT membership includes trauma counseling programs, we urge you to utilize this benefit at this time And if a coworker is turning for help, remind them that nothing can provide workplace support like a union.
Two of the most controversial laws passed by the Texas Legislature this year, Senate Bill 12, dubbed the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” and Senate Bill 10, requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms, are already facing serious legal challenges that could reshape their future in Texas schools.
As quickly as our union has been responding to the events from last week, it seems like state leaders are also working overtime to make educators’ lives harder. In just one week, two faculty members have been fired, the Lieutenant Governor established a new education committee in the House and Senate, the TEA has begun to investigate complaints against teachers for their social media posts, and colleges are cracking down on course content. We are battling an all-out witch hunt by our state’s top lawmakers.
The State Board of Education (SBOE) met in Austin last week to discuss and take action on several topics, the most visible of which was the new social studies framework.
On September 10, 2025, the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers joined a federal lawsuit, PCUN v. Noem, arguing that protections long enjoyed by schools, hospitals, places of worship, and preschools against ICE enforcement should be restored. These protections were removed by the Trump administration, ending guidance that had, for over 30 years, prohibited immigration enforcement actions at “sensitive locations.”
This week marks the start of HispanicHeritage Month! As a union with a majority Hispanic membership, we’re excited to celebrate the culture that brings vibrancy to our mission. If you would like to bring this month’s celebration into your classroom, check out Share My Lesson’s collection of activities and lesson plans for all grade levels.
Recommended Reading
Education news from around the state and nation that’s worth your time.
📖TEA receives over 280 complaints against teachers for social media posts on Charlie Kirk’s death. “What started with lawmakers weaponizing their platforms against civil servants has morphed into a statewide directive to hunt down and fire educators for opinions shared on their personal social media accounts. In short order, the LibsofTikTok agenda has become the policy of the State of Texas,” Texas AFT President Zeph Capo said.(Spectrum News, Sept. 17)
📖 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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