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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 MoreSBEC Recap: Educator Preparation and Assessment Changes
The State Board for Educator Certification will meet in Austin on Friday, Feb. 16. We anticipate a few highly impactful items. The board will consider the proposed repeal and replacement of the entirety of Chapter 228, which dictates the curriculum that Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) must deliver in their teacher...
Read MoreIn the News: Gun Violence in Our Schools & Communities
Texas AFT President Zeph Capo speaks to fellow marchers outside of Sen. Ted Cruz’s office in June 2022. Members and allies gathered to urge action on gun violence after the school shooting in Uvalde. No action has been taken by Cruz or other Texas politicians since that time. White House...
Read MoreFeb. 2, 2024: Kicking Off Election Season
Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 “God bless the Texas labor movement, and God help Texas.” Last weekend, Texas AFT delegates attended the Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention, kicking off Texas labor’s political fight this election year for working Texans (more on that later). In his speech to convention delegates, President Zeph Capo...
Read MoreTexas AFT Joins AFT’s Call for a Bilateral Ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 2, 2024 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org Texas AFT Joins AFT’s Call for a Bilateral Ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War The resolution was unanimously adopted by the American Federation of Teachers executive council, representing our union’s 1.72 million members, on Jan. 30. AUSTIN, Texas — The...
Read MoreRecap: 2024 Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention
Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Leonard Aguilar and Texas AFT President Zeph Capo on stage at the convention. Courtesy of Texas AFL-CIO. This past Sunday and Monday, hundreds of delegates representing local unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO from across Texas convened in Austin for the 2024 Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention. COPE, the...
Read MoreTexas AFT Political Committee Announces 1st Round of Primary Election Endorsements
Texas AFT's Committee on Political Education (COPE), our union’s political arm, is proud to announce its first round of endorsements ahead of the March 5 primary. Our union’s political advocacy is funded solely by voluntary donations from our members across Texas and purchases from our online store. Your children’s teachers,...
Read MoreTexas AFT Joins Coalition Partners with Guidance for Districts on HB 900, Book Bans
This week, Texas AFT joined the Children’s Defense Fund-Texas and other public education and civil rights groups in sending an advisory letter to all Texas public school superintendents regarding book-banning bill HB 900. In the letter, our coalition provides updates and legal guidance on how to best comply with the...
Read MoreRepublican Representative Calls out ‘Dangerous Bureaucracy’ at Texas Education Agency
Texas state Rep. Glenn Rogers stirred up controversy this week when he announced his intention to file legislation for the 2025 legislative session that would eliminate the Texas Education Agency (TEA). His argument took aim at TEA, suggesting that the agency had become a breeding ground for wasteful spending and...
Read MoreWest Texas A&M Institute Intended to Promote ‘Thought about Traditional Conservative Value(s),’ Reporting Reveals
This past week, reporting from the Texas Tribune revealed more details of the undue right-wing influence of wealthy donors over a new program at West Texas A&M University. As previously reported in the Hotline, the Hill Institute, funded by a...
Read MoreJan. 26, 2024: This is Just the Beginning
Friday, Jan. 26, 2024 Your Union, Your Voice After a turbulent and shamefully unproductive legislative session(s) in 2023, Texas politicians are gearing up for this year's general election, and public education will be a top issue. Your voice helps your union bring facts about the state of public education to...
Read MoreSBOE Preview: New Year, New Chair
Readers of the Hotline will remember that in December, the governor appointed Aaron Kinsey, who represents District 15, as the new State Board of Education (SBOE) chair, replacing Dr. Keven Ellis, who has served as chair since 2019. Next week’s regular meeting of the board will be Kinsey’s first in...
Read MoreNew National Report Reveals Inadequacy of Texas School Funding
Earlier this month, researchers with the Albert Shanker Institute, the University of Miami, and Rutgers University released a report that evaluated school funding levels across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and found, yet again, that Texas schools are direly underfunded. The Adequacy and Fairness of State School Finance Systems,...
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