Newsroom

Featured News

‘What Are Block Grants?’: Flexibility at the Expense of Equity

Our union is continuously monitoring developments with the Department of Education and proposed Trump Administration changes to how federal education funding and services are delivered to states.   Recently, as several states have put forward proposals to “cut strings” tied to federal education dollars, we’ve fielded many questions from educators and...

Read More

Texas House denies voters a say in private school voucher scams

Texas a-f-t logo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  April 16, 2025  CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org Governor Abbott calls in President Trump to bail him out with his own caucus. AUSTIN, Texas – Today, the Texas House gave initial approval to Senate Bill 2, the private school voucher scam legislation. Never one to fight his own...

Read More

Texas House kicks the can down the road again on school funding 

Texas a-f-t logo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  April 16, 2025  CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org Small increase to the basic allotment means underfunded schools will continue to struggle. AUSTIN, Texas – Today, the Texas House of Representatives gave initial approval to House Bill 2, its attempt at a school finance bill. Both the process and...

Read More

ICYMI: Educator argues vouchers won’t help her most vulnerable students

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 15, 2025 CONTACT: Nicole Hill, press@texasaft.org ICYMI: Educator argues vouchers won’t help her most vulnerable students Parents and educators joined State Rep. James Talarico for a statewide TV interview. AUSTIN, Texas –  Yesterday, Nexstar television stations across the state aired a special broadcast, “Texas Education: Funding...

Read More

April 11, 2025: We can – and must – do better

News from the 89th legislative session

Friday, April 11, 2025 McAllen AFT President Sylvia Tanguma (left) and members attend their school board meeting Tuesday with a message to trustees: stand with us in fighting against the privatization of our schools.   We can – and must – do better This week, the Texas House passed its...

Read More

This Week in the Legislature: Where’s the Money? 

On Thursday, legislators in the Texas House discussed their version of the state budget deep into the night. Hundreds of amendments were proposed, but fewer were actually voted upon, let alone debated. Unfortunately, budget writers affiliated with House leadership made a deal early on to stifle debate on important amendments...

Read More

April 4, 2025: We’ve got eyes, governor.

Friday, April 4, 2025 We’ve got eyes, governor. Last week, the Texas Tribune published a school finance explainer that puts to rest false claims from Gov. Greg Abbott and his pro-voucher ilk that Texas education funding is at an all-time high. The analysis concludes that the $15,000 per student figure...

Read More

This Week in Higher Ed: Why is the Legislature Coming for Accreditation?  

News from the 89th legislative session

This week, House Bill 1705 and its companion Senate Bill 757 were heard in both the House Higher Education Committee and the Senate Education K-16 Committee. These bills change higher education accrediting standards, removing the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as the statutorily mandated agency in the education...

Read More