Featured News
SB 13: Deep Dive into New School Library Restrictions
During the 89th legislative session, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 13, which significantly changes how public school libraries across the state select, review, and manage books and instructional materials. The law, which took effect on Sept. 1, creates new barriers to access and hands greater decision-making power to school boards and external, ostensibly parent-dominated councils. Supporters argue that SB...
Read MoreTexas AFT condemns political witch hunt against Texas educators
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 13, 2025 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org Texas formalizes online hate campaigns against individual teachers AUSTIN, Texas — In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination, private citizens of all political persuasions shared their thoughts on their personal social media accounts. A number of state representatives, including state...
Read MoreFederal Education Updates: More DOE Budget Cuts & PSLF Rulemaking
The Trump Administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Education would strip nearly $12 billion from public schools nationwide, a move that would fall hardest on the students and districts most in need. According to analysis from the Education Law Center, the proposal eliminates or consolidates...
Read MoreTensions Rise as Legal Lines Blur on College Campuses
Texas AAUP-AFT and Austin Community College AFT leaders and members join allied groups for a press conference in opposition to Senate Bill 37 in the 89th Legislature. Free speech in higher education is on the line for students and faculty, that much has been made crystal clear in recent days. ...
Read MoreHonoring Rep. Alma Allen: A Champion for Public Education
Rep. Alma Allen speaks to members at our 2023 Public Education Advocacy Day. Photo by Win O’Neal, CCR Studios. State Rep. Alma A. Allen announced last week that she will retire at the end of her term in 2026, closing out more than two decades in the Texas House and...
Read MoreSBEC Preview: HB 2 in Action
The State Board for Educator Certification will meet in Austin on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 18-19. The meeting will take place over two days with many discussion items and will include a new component to the proceedings. The first order of business will be for the new Temporary Suspension Committee...
Read MoreSept. 5, 2025: The No STAAR State
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...
Read MoreTexas A&M University Caves to Political Pressure, Violating Faculty Rights to Academic Freedom and Due Process
Sept. 10, 2025 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Brian L. Evans, PhD, aaup.texas@gmail.com This week’s events are the clearest example yet: We are bargaining away Texas’s future so politicians can have material for fundraising emails and viral social media content. AUSTIN,...
Read MoreTexas AFT members fight to bring benefits of HB 2 to their districts
House Bill 2, the Legislature’s school finance bill, went into full effect on Monday, Sept. 1. Even before enactment day, though, Texas AFT members and organizers have been hard at work in districts across the state to make sure the funding increases from the Teacher Retention Allotment (TRA) and the...
Read MoreCourt Battles & Confusion as Texas Ten Commandments Law Takes Effect
Texas’s new Ten Commandments law, Senate Bill 10, officially went into effect on September 1, but implementation is unfolding unevenly across the state.
Read MoreSBOE Preview: Social Studies Redux
The State Board of Education (SBOE) will convene in Austin on Monday, Sept. 8, at 1 p.m. CT. The board is set to meet throughout the week, ending on Friday, Sept. 10, and will take up several important items, most notably, a framework for the anticipated social studies content area...
Read MoreSB 12: The ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ Deep Dive
On Friday, June 20, 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 12 into law. The law took effect on Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, and aims to reshape public school practices related to parental rights, educator responsibilities, and the role of diversity and identity in pre-K-12 schools.
Read MoreHouse Bill 2 provides needed pay increases for educators at the start of the 2025-26 school year
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 2, 2025 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org Educators welcome much needed pay raises but lament bottom line for schools AUSTIN, Texas – Today, Texas AFT celebrates the enactment of House Bill 2, which partially went into effect on Sept. 1. Portions of the bill that were effective...
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