Betsy DeVos (Photo: Al Drago / New York Times) AFT is alerting supporters of public education about a Supreme Court case with opening arguments heard Wednesday that could pose a serious threat to our fight against private-school vouchers--Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The bad news is that the wrong ruling could propel privatization efforts across the country. The good news is that it’s facing serious questions from justices, and that we’ve established a long-standing opposition to using taxpayer dollars for private-school tuition in Texas. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has proposed a $5 billion voucher program much like the one in question from Montana, so it’s obvious that backers of privatization will be following this case closely to try and expand the use of taxpayer...
Texas AFT’s Committee on Quality Educational Standards in Teaching (QuEST) has come up with a new survey for teachers on the evaluation systems currently in effect in their districts and possible alternatives. Many members already have responded to the survey, initially announced in the Hotline and posted online in mid-December....
The regular daily Hotline will take a holiday break from December 17 through January 3, resuming on January 4, 2011. As always, special editions may appear in the meanwhile as circumstances dictate.
A key bill left for dead last week has undergone a resurrection, thanks to quick action by grass-roots advocates and their allies in Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the DREAM Act again as a brand-new bill—one that would gives thousands of immigrant children access to the higher...
A bid to provide full-year education funding for fiscal 2011, including some needed increases, failed in the U.S. Senate yesterday. The education funding was part of an omnibus bill containing funds for many different government programs. The Senate could not muster the supermajority of 60 members needed to overcome procedural...
The compromise on tax policy passed by Congress this week has a couple of little-noted provisions affecting education that you should know about. Here’s how the Wall Street Journal described one of them: “Through 2011, teachers will still be able to file for up to $250 in deductions for classroom...
An important update of federal child-nutrition law took effect this month, with unanimous support in the U.S. Senate and with bipartisan backing in the U.S. House. The legislation better connects eligible children with free school meals. The law also expands and improves breakfast programs. It helps make headway against childhood...
Do you know a Texas AFT member who has made a lasting difference in his or her workplace? Someone who has had a profound and positive impact on the community and whose extraordinary contribution in his or her field of work, or to the lives of others, has been heroic?...
Over the next week, Congress will decide funding levels for federal education aid to states and school districts. The legislative department at the American Federation of Teachers in Washington, D.C., says three options are being considered: (1) continue funding at current levels; (2) provide slight increases in an omnibus budget...
There’s much ado about teacher effectiveness and teacher evaluation in the media these days, with a story line driven by self-anointed educational “reformers” who think they already have all the answers about how to address both. Texas AFT has been working for improvements in teacher development and appraisal since long...
December 26 is the effective date of recent amendments by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) to the Educators’ Code of Ethics addressing electronic communication between educators and students, among other topics. SBEC has the power to determine that a violation of the code of ethics has occurred and...
Texas Teacher Retirement System trustees today signed off on the system's legislative wish list for the 2011 session, prominently including proposals to extend TRS authority to hire outside, private investment managers and to invest in futures, options, and similar derivative financial products. Texas AFT legislative spokesman Ted Melina Raab testified...
At this week's meeting of the Texas Education Reform Foundation in Austin, the roster of legislators on hand to discuss the upcoming session reflected the strong partisan tilt in Texas politics confirmed by the November election. Every legislator heard from was a Republican. To varying degrees, all bowed in their...
