This Tuesday, May 2, was national Teacher Appreciation Day. This week, the Texas Legislature continued to offer educators little in terms of meaningful respect, but much in terms of meaningless platitudes and token displays. Teacher Appreciation Day: House Committees Receive Testimony, Texas AFT Members Demand Respect The House Public Education...
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This week, committees of the Texas Legislature considered bills that had dramatic implications for public education, higher education, and retired educators. Public Education: House Committees Consider Charter School Expansion & LGBTQIA+ Pride Bans, Senate Committee Debates Instructional Materials & Book Bans This past week the Texas House considered two bills...
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This is the final of three deep dives we will take into the final report from the Texas Education Agency’s Teacher Vacancy Task Force. The recommendations from the report fell into three broad categories: CompensationWorking Conditions Training & Support We took a brief pause after covering topics related to compensation...
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This week, committees of the Texas Legislature considered bills that had dramatic implications for public education, higher education, and retired educators. Public Education: Senate Considers Vouchers & Teacher Working Conditions, House Considers Book Bans, Curriculum Regulation, and School Funding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJxPaiper5Q Texas AFT President Zeph Capo provides testimony opposing vouchers to...
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Friday, March 17, 2023 Respect Public Schools. Reject School Vouchers. Socorro AFT members wave signs in support of public education and against school vouchers at a rally outside the Texas AFL-CIO on Monday. Photo by Mariana Krueger, CCR Studios. “When I say ‘respect,’ you say ‘us,’” said Zeph Capo, president...
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Texas AFT regularly participates in coalition work with allies related to our legislative priorities; in the past week, we have had the chance to join our coalition partners at the Capitol for successful advocacy days.
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Friday, May 10, 2024 Now is as good a time as any to remind you that you can find this meme and more by following Texas AFT on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or X/Twitter. 'Teacher Appreciation’ In theory, this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. But you wouldn’t have guessed it from...
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Friday, April 26, 2024 A post on X (formerly Twitter) from Lily Kepner, the higher education reporter for the Austin American-Statesman, shows UT AAUP President Polly Strong addressing students, faculty, and community members at a Thursday protest, one day after local and state law enforcement agents violently responded to a...
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This Thursday, April 11, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick dropped a list of 57 charges for senate committees to study in preparation for the 89th legislative session next spring. Nearly a third of the charges he included were either directly or indirectly related to education in Texas, but none of the...
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Friday, Dec. 1, 2023 Teaching the truth On Monday, Nov. 27, Texas State University officially dedicated the Shirley R. Harris Student Lounge, honoring a civil rights trailblazer and 40-year San Antonio educator. Shirley Harris was the first Black graduate from the university (then known as Southwest Texas State College), earning...
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The State Board of Education (SBOE) is holding a special called meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 13, to take action on a few issues before the end of 2023. First, the board intends to review and approve the rubrics for the new Instructional Materials Review and Adoption Process (IMRA) required by...
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Friday, October 27, 2023 Have you voted? Early voting continues across Texas for the Nov. 7 election. Next week through Friday, Nov. 3, you have the opportunity to cast your vote for various important measures that will shape the future of your community and state. Statewide Measures Texans everywhere will...
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