Featured News
June 19, 2022: Survey–77% oppose arming teachers; House committee hearing on TRS COLA; Take the KXAN safety/gun survey
Our survey shows school employees overwhelmingly (77%) do not want to be armed Educators instead support legislation on gun access Our survey of Texas school employees released Wednesday shows that 77% of respondents do not want to be armed to confront a shooter in their schools. The Texas AFT survey of 5,100 Texas K-12 school employees, higher-ed employees, parents,...
Read MoreJune 17, 2022: Victory over charter expansion with rejections by SBOE; High school STAAR results released
State Board of Education votes down four charter applications—a huge victory over harmful charter expansion SBOE also nixes new teacher certification process On Friday, the State Board of Education rejected four of five applications for new charter schools recommended for...
Read MoreJune 5, 2022: Protest targets Ted Cruz for abominable response to the Uvalde shooting; Abbott ignores calls for special session, announces new directives; TRS trustee election news
Texas AFT President Zeph Capo rallies a call to stop gun violence on the steps of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s office building. Texas AFT Protest targets Sen. Cruz for being an obstacle to popular gun-safety measures and a proponent of...
Read MoreMay 20, 2022: Poll shows gov on wrong side with vouchers, parents want STAAR opt out; A-F ratings kick back in; Big hearings coming up in #TxLege
A big push for respect With the message of “Raise & Respect = Retain,” Socorro AFT members continued their push for significant salary increases and retention bonuses at the Socorro ISD School Board meeting this week. Members sent the school...
Read MoreMay 6, 2022: TRS says all good for a retiree COLA next session, but there’s more to be done; Abbott’s cruel idea to leave kids without an education; Vote tomorrow!
Texas AFT Retiree Plus member Lydia Carrillo-Valdez testifies at the Capitol for a cost-of-living increase for TRS pensions. TRS officials tell legislators: The fund is healthy and can support a cost-of-living increase for retirees But you’ll still need to fight...
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With private school voucher push, governor heads in the wrong direction for retaining teachers While our Lost Decade report outlined how increases in per-pupil funding are the key to teacher recruitment and retention with higher wages, Gov. Greg Abbott’s response to the crisis is to wage a campaign to take...
Read MoreApril 29, 2022: Tell us what makes you feel appreciated; TRS healthcare rates won’t rise; Our local wage campaigns are firing at all cylinders; House hearing update on public ed
Tuesday is Teacher Appreciation Day! Let us know what makes you feel appreciated and be entered in drawing to win $450 gift card Thanks to all our educators who work so hard each day to inspire and nurture our students....
Read MoreApril 22, 2022: Time to pump up your activism with upcoming hearings and elections; Tuesday is for Texting
House committee embarks on interim charges in Tuesday hearing on immigration impacts and investments related to Russia The House Public Education Committee will be looking at the impacts immigrants have on schools and reports on investments in Russia by public...
Read MoreApril 15, 2022: New reports shows a ‘Lost Decade’ for public ed with declining school employee wages; TEA policy on ‘obscene’ books
New report shows the key driver for teachers ready to call it quits: making less money than they did in 2010 ‘The Lost Decade: Texas schools are underfunded & facing devastating staffing shortages’ Without significant statewide investment in public school...
Read MoreApril 8, 2022: More student loan relief on the way; Patrick introduces divisive agenda for next session; SBOE adds new courses
With interim charges, Lt. Gov. Patrick eyes legislation on book bans, ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick released interim charges for the Texas Senate this week, a highlight of the destructive culture wars he intends to pursue in...
Read MoreApril 1, 2022: New fed rules on charter grants would limit taxpayer money to for-profits; TEA change will fund districts suffering low attendance; Join our Text Mixers!
Biden administration pushes new restrictions on charter-school access to federal grants On March 10, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a spending bill that includes a proposal for stricter requirements for federal grants used for charter-school expansion. One such change would...
Read MoreMarch 25, 2022: Charters take billions in fed business aid; Changeup in Texas Senate Ed; Get ready to vote again!
Senate Education Committee gets new chair Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has appointed Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) to chair the Education Committee during the interim and will keep him as chair of the Higher Education Committee. However, Patrick intends to make...
Read MoreMarch 11, 2022: Cancel STAAR!; Admins on retention task force outnumber teachers 26-2; Texas House sets interim work
Educators, parents, and students renew call to cancel STAAR testing Respect means listening to our students, parents, and educators on what we need to emerge from this pandemic and to set a foundation for success in the future. Now is...
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