Every week, Texas AFT compiles important news, updates, and information on public education policy in Texas. The Hotline covers a wide range of topics, including statewide education news, updates from the legislative session, and our current union campaigns.
Friday, October 31, 2025 (Happy Halloween!) Beyond the Shutdown As we brace for the deliberate lapse in SNAP benefits for millions of Americans, and as Head Start programs prepare to close from shutdown defunding, it’s important to remember what led us here: a proposed budget that would devastate the health and well-being of working Americans and vulnerable communities. The battle to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits isn’t a...
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Friday, October 24, 2025 Members, have you shared your thoughts yet? As many of you know, the state of Texas doesn’t gather enough data on our schools, and especially not on the working lives of educators. Each year, Texas AFT takes on this task because we know how vital...
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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...
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Friday, October 10, 2025 Read the full story from ProPublica ‘Empty School Buildings’ If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter – even if you’re not a member of our union – there is one thing we know about you: you care about Texas public schools. (If you don’t,...
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Friday, October 3, 2025 What the shutdown means for Texas The federal government has shut down, and that is bad news for Texas. As the Texas AFL-CIO notes, our state is home to the third-most federal workers in the country and the highest number of American Federation of Government Employees...
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Friday, September 26, 2025 Hands Off! Texas politicians can’t help themselves but meddle in our public school classrooms (and our college and university classrooms too). The past two weeks of needless hysteria — firing professors for doing their job or launching a witch hunt for teachers and faculty who...
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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...
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Friday, September 12, 2025 Nickels and dimes Every back-to-school season, public school teachers and staff across the country spend hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket on food and classroom supplies for their students. This year is no exception — and the burden has been made more acute by recent federal cuts. ...
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Friday, September 5, 2025 The No STAAR State On Wednesday, the Texas Legislature closed out its second special session by passing a bill that will replace STAAR with a through-year testing regimen that will mean more but (allegedly) shorter tests for students. Lawmakers have begun their celebratory pronouncements. Rep. Brad...
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Friday, August 29, 2025 This coming Monday is Labor Day, an annual recognition of union members who make up the American labor movement and who have worked tirelessly over decades to build a fairer, safer, and better country for all. This year, we feel a profound sense of urgency...
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Friday, August 22, 2025 The Ten Commandments There is never a back-to-school season without chaos, at least not lately. But this year, the number of policy changes and overall uncertainty that educators, parents, students, and districts are contending with is off the charts. One source of that uncertainty has...
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Friday, August 15, 2025 The Grift Is On If you read this newsletter regularly, you know that the education landscape is changing, and not necessarily for the better. Over the next year, Texas will prepare to implement Gov. Greg Abbott’s long-sought private school voucher program. Just this week, we...
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Friday, August 8, 2025 The Future of Texas Public Over the next year, this state’s leaders will plan and implement a private school voucher program. The ripple effect of this third taxpayer-funded school system (after public schools and charter schools) will be enormous. Just this week, reports surfaced of...
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