Over the course of the regular legislative session, one topic cast a shadow over the entire public education conversation. It wasn't the harmful overtesting of our state’s children or our state’s severely underfunded classrooms. It was private school vouchers.
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While public institutions of higher education in Texas have weathered attacks from the state Legislature before, never have those attacks been so directly targeted by lawmakers as in this session.
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Just as the first special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott was scheduled to run out of time this Wednesday (with legislators passing zero bills), Abbott immediately called a second special session on the very same issue that stalled the...
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This week's Hotline is brought to you by Horace Mann. Friday, June 9, 2023 Rio Grande Valley community members, including McAllen AFT, protest outside an April stop on Gov. Abbott’s voucher roadshow. Photo by Clarissa Riojas. ‘If you don’t have a school, you don’t have a community’ Today, we start...
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Seeking Leverage on Vouchers & Property Tax Relief, Gov. Abbott Has a Veto Tantrum Sunday was the last day for Gov. Greg Abbott to exercise his veto authority, stopping any bills passed during the regular session from becoming law. In an attempt to punish certain legislators who did not vote...
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Educators in Texas who have retired over the past two decades have never received an increase to their monthly pension. Even those who retired before then have only received a slight increase to their monthly annuities. Meanwhile, consumer prices have increased by more than 60% in Texas over the past...
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The legislative session began with a $32.7 billion budget surplus, record-breaking staff turnover, and a TEA Teacher Vacancy Task Force report that directly pointed to educator raises as a necessary strategy to keep educators in the classroom. Yet the legislative session ended with $0 in guaranteed raises for educators.
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Last week, the day after the regular session of the Texas Legislature ended, Gov. Greg Abbott promptly called legislators back for a special session to deal with property tax cuts and border security. The Texas House promptly passed a property tax cut bill and a border security bill, and adjourned...
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This week we said “goodbye” to the 88th regular session … and then, just a few hours later, said “hello” to the first special session of the 88th Legislature. In this week’s Hotline, we recap the end of the regular session, provide an update on the first (of “several”) special...
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Education Round Rock President Tammy Conrad speaks Monday at an early-morning press conference on voucher bill SB 8 with Texas AFT and allies. Watch on Facebook Live. There is a little over a week left in the 88th Texas Legislature, and once again, our elected officials are on a path...
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Friday, April 21, 2023 Picking winners and losers San Antonio Alliance member Teresa Razo and Northeast Houston AFT member Tammy Reyes meet with a representative from Rep. Greg Bonnen’s office this past Tuesday. This week, the Texas House Public Education Committee took up the very important work of debating whether...
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This past week, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced which legislators will participate in the conference committee on HB 1, the State Budget for the next biennium. These conferees will have the final say on what is included and what is excluded from the budget....
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