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San Antonio Alliance Member Adrian Reyna Announces State House Run
San Antonio educator and Texas AFT member Adrian Reyna is running for the Texas House in District 125, which covers a large part of northwest San Antonio.
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...
Read MoreAug. 29, 2025: Labor Day
Friday, August 29, 2025 This coming Monday is Labor Day, an annual recognition of union members who make up the American labor movement and who have worked tirelessly over decades to build a fairer, safer, and better country for all. This year, we feel a profound sense of urgency...
Read More89th Legislature in Review: Your Right to Organize
This summer, RGV AFT members in Hidalgo ISD organized and won raises for teachers, certified staff, and hourly employees, above and beyond what was guaranteed by House Bill 2 from the 89th Legislature. Empowered educators produce engaged students. History consistently shows how unions can raise the bar for all of...
Read MoreHouse Bill 8: Goodbye, STAAR. Hello, Who the Heck Knows?
The second special session call was a rinse and repeat of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities for Texas, including entertaining a bill to “eliminate the STAAR test.” While that phrase might earn lots of hearts on social media, the reality of what transpired in the Legislature over the last week paints...
Read MoreLouisiana, California Pass PSRP Bills of Rights
The Texas Legislature failed to act on meaningful workplace improvements for our paraprofessionals and support staff (PSRPs) in the 89th Legislature, allowing bills that would have addressed the working conditions of custodians (House Bill 1573) or established a minimum wage requirement for bus drivers (HB 419) to wither on the...
Read MoreUniversity, Community College Systems Decide the Fate of Faculty Senates
Texas AAUP-AFT members, faculty, and students wait to testify against Senate Bill 37 in a committee hearing of the 89th Legislature. After Senate Bill 37 was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 20, university and community college leaders were given only two months to completely restructure long-standing...
Read MoreAug. 22, 2025: The Ten Commandments
Friday, August 22, 2025 The Ten Commandments There is never a back-to-school season without chaos, at least not lately. But this year, the number of policy changes and overall uncertainty that educators, parents, students, and districts are contending with is off the charts. One source of that uncertainty has...
Read MoreTexas Special Session, Week 5 Recap
The Texas House this week approved a mid-decade redistricting plan that could significantly reshape the state’s congressional delegation. On Aug. 20, lawmakers passed House Bill 4 in an 88-52 vote, sending the measure to the Senate for final consideration this afternoon, though Houston Senator Carol Alvarado indicated she intends to...
Read MoreTEA Drops A-F Ratings (Again), Raising Stakes for Public Schools
The Texas Education Agency dropped not one, but two years of A-F accountability ratings last week, marking the third release in just one calendar year.
Read MoreFederal Judge Strikes Down ‘DEI’ Ban in Schools, Universities
Late last week, a U.S. district judge in Maryland ruled in favor of AFT and a coalition of associations, educators, and school districts, declaring that the Trump Administration’s efforts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at schools, colleges, and universities is unconstitutional.
Read More89th Legislature in Review: Your Right to Democratic Representation
Our 2022 Texas Needs Teachers report highlighted a deep concern among Texas educators about the lack of teacher input into state-level policies such as testing, school funding, licensure (renewal), and evaluation.
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