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SBOE Recap: Rules Approved, SBEC Cautioned
The State Board of Education gathered in Austin from April 9-12 for what promised to be consequential meetings related to educator certification, as well as other topics important to our members. Tuesday has become “instructional materials day” on the SBOE’s agenda. Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff presented an update on the inaugural instructional materials review and adoption process (IMRA) and a...
Read MoreSupreme Court Delivers More Decisions Impacting Education
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two notable cases related to public education: Houston Community College System v. Wilson, pertaining to freedom of speech and workplace retaliation and Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, complicating the nation’s longstanding commitment to separation of church and state. Board Trustee David Wilson sued...
Read MoreJune 24, 2022: State Senate hearings on school safety; SCOTUS makes ruling favorable to vouchers; Some unsavory details about the charters rejected by the SBOE
Education Commissioner Mike Morath takes questions from state senators in a school safety hearing this week. Texas Senate hears testimony on school safety and mental health in the wake of Uvalde This week, the Texas Senate Special Committee to...
Read MoreTexas Senate hears testimony on school safety and mental health in the wake of Uvalde
Education Commissioner Mike Morath takes questions from state senators in a school safety hearing this week. This week, the Texas Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans held back-to-back hearings on school safety and mental health in the wake of devastating reporting on the utter failure of law enforcement leadership...
Read MoreSupreme Court ruling likely to fuel private-school voucher backers wanting taxpayer money to fund religious schools
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of parents in Maine who argued that the state’s ban on taxpayer money going to religious private schools is unconstitutional—a ruling that could energize voucher backers in Texas. The vote was...
Read MoreSBOE rejection of charter applicants reveals the unsavory politics of candidates trying to buy board seats
In the last Hotline, we reported our victory over damaging charter-school expansion as the State Board of Education vetoed four of five charters recommended by the Texas Education Agency. For more context on the win, understand that charter backers have...
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 MoreTEA releases 2022 end-of-course STAAR results
On Thursday, the Texas Education Agency released end-of-course STAAR results for assessments in Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and U.S History. Texas high school students are demonstrating improvement in three areas: Algebra I, Biology, and U.S. History—with scores rising but still below pre-pandemic levels. English I and English...
Read MoreState Board of Education votes down four charter applications—a huge victory over harmful charter expansion
The Board also nixes new teacher certification process On Friday, the State Board of Education rejected four of five applications for new charter schools recommended for approval by the Texas Education Agency. The SBOE started hearing testimony for and against...
Read MoreJune 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...
Read MoreGovernor creates news safety and security position at TEA to help coordinate efforts between state agencies
On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott directed Education Commissioner Mike Morath to create a “Chief of School Safety and Security” at the Texas Education Agency to oversee efforts to secure schools from gun violence. In a letter to Morath, the governor...
Read MoreSocorro union scores big victory with over $1 million in back pay to school employees robbed of leave days
Socorro AFT’s efforts to right a wrong over Covid-19 leave paid off big Monday night when the Socorro ISD School Board voted to return leave days and docked pay to employees from an unfair policy over Covid-19 testing. The dispute...
Read MoreHouse committee hears retirees call for a COLA as TRS investment returns soar
On Monday, Texas AFT Staff Researcher Eli Melendrez and Texas AFT Retiree Plus member Lydia Carrillo-Valdez testified in front of the Texas House Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services (PIFS) Committee in favor of a significant cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for TRS retirees. Melendrez testified that due to high inflation over the...
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