Hear HFT Member Maxie Hollingsworth on why her vote is important for a democratically-elected School Board. The Houston Federation of Teachers joined Houston ISD in federal court in Austin yesterday seeking an injunction to halt the state takeover of the district. While the district’s argument centered around issues regarding the Education Commissioner Mike Morath’s authority to order the takeover and accountability laws and rules, attorneys for HFT spoke to the disenfranchisement of district voters, since the state would appoint a board of managers to replace the democratically-elected School Board members. Highlighting our argument in testimony was HFT member and HISD teacher, Maxie Hollingsworth, a plaintiff in the case against the state. Hollingsworth said that as an African American, with the history of disenfranchisement, she...
At a legislative briefing sponsored by the Texas Education Reformation Foundation today, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he was "more optimistic than a lot of people" about the budget situation for the 2012-2013 biennium. He cited accelerating gains in sales-tax revenue over the last three months as one cause for...
The last couple of Hotlines have laid out many of the recommendations emanating from the Texas Senate Education Committee in an interim report to the 2011 legislature issued last week. You can see the full report at this site: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/Senate/commit/c530/c530.InterimReport81.pdf. More of the committee’s recommendations are worth noting here. Under...
The previous Hotline described notable committee recommendations, in an interim report intended to guide legislative action in 2011, on the topics of charter schools, teacher evaluation, modification of class-size limits, and educator contracts. Additional topics addressed include: --Teacher pay: The committee’s interim report calls for providing “flexibility to school districts...
The Texas Senate Education Committee, chaired by Plano Republican Sen. Florence Shapiro, has come out with a wish list of policy changes that Shapiro can be expected to seek in the 2011 session of the legislature. Not all of them have the full backing of her committee members, however. Controversial...
In a recent magazine article, billionaire Bill Gates, who has used grants from his philanthropic foundation to assume a key role in steering educational policy across the nation, reproaches education historian Diane Ravitch for saying his version of education reform is hurting America’s schools. Unfortunately for Gates, Ravitch has now...
As early as Friday, Congress may vote on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, bipartisan legislation that would ensure thousands of immigrant children who have grown up in the United States can get the post-secondary education they need to contribute to society. Under the DREAM Act,...
The victory of Juliet Stipeche in today's runoff election for a seat on the Houston ISD school board has national implications. Stipeche, running with the strong support of the Houston Federation of Teachers, prevailed in a close race over a well-funded candidate backed by business groups and out-of-state political interests...
At a time when more Americans remain unemployed, through no fault of their own, than in any era since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the U.S. Congress has made matters worse by allowing long-term unemployment benefits to run out. As of tomorrow, more than 800,000 unemployed workers will have...
The co-chairs of a presidential advisory commission have recommended deep cuts in Social Security benefits as part of a federal deficit-reduction program, even though Social Security has played no part in creating the problem of the federal deficit. Their proposal would raise the retirement age over time to 69, cutting...
A Texas AFT member in San Antonio is thrilled to be the recipient of the mobile home that Gov. Rick Perry spurned even though it was offered to him for a dollar a year. Hilda Cantu yesterday received the keys...
On Friday the State Board of Education found another $300 million for the state budget in the coming biennium, thanks to a transfer of unanticipated funds from the School Land Board into the Permanent School Fund. Legislative leaders, who have been pushing for budget cuts, said they welcomed the decision...
Thanks to a legislative blockade orchestrated by a minority of U.S. House members and U.S. senators, some two million American workers who have lost their jobs and have been unable to find work in the current sluggish economy will lose their unemployment benefits, effective December 1. Among them are nearly...
