Texas educator survey says over 70% are burned out, want legislative fixes.

May 15
2 min read

Last Friday, May 8, we released some data points from our 2025-2026 Membership Survey. The survey, conducted over a period late last year and receiving over 4,500 responses, is a snapshot of the mood of public school employees, higher education faculty, and educator retirees. The picture is not inspiring.

71% of respondents surveyed say they have considered leaving their job in the past year – a figure that has remained stubbornly high in the history of Texas AFT’s membership surveys. A majority say pay incentives or changes to workload would encourage them to stay, including 68% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans, highlighting a broad ideological consensus. When it comes to pay increases that have passed, like from last year’s HB 2, only some (43%) say they are certain their ISD has adopted a budget that implements the staggered raises.

Our higher education cohort is not faring much better – 65% say they have considered leaving their job in the past year. While pay increases ranked well as a reason to stay (25%), a plurality cited increased academic freedom (30%) as their main want, a matter on which we have extensively reported in the past.

During last week’s virtual press conference in which we shared this data to our friends in the media, Texas AFT President Zeph Capo reminded Texans of the context in which we find ourselves. “Texas public schools are still in trouble, and they need Texas lawmakers to continue investing in them, in their students, and in their educators to right the ship. Too many districts still face budget deficits, campus closures, and layoffs, which threaten the classroom experience of thousands of Texas students,” Capo said. “Our membership survey identifies the problems but also lays out clear solutions for lawmakers in the next legislative session.”

These figures deserve to be at the forefront of our minds as the House Public Education Committee held an interim hearing this past Monday on the “state of public education,” which did not produce meaningful dialogu e. As things stand, we will have to wait for yet another legislative session in 2027 to push for significant increases to funding and changes to working conditions.