Topic: Legislation

School district ratings reveal continuing trend of charters underperforming traditional public schools

Publish Date: August 15, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 15, 2017 CONTACT:  Rob D’Amico, 512-627-1343 Texas AFT President Louis Malfaro commented today on the release of school accountability ratings by the Texas Education Agency:   We’re pleased to see a decline in the number of districts rated as “Improvement Required,” but it’s also clear that charter schools continue to underperform traditional public schools, since charter...

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Anti-teacher amendment rejected in Texas House; deal on school funding delayed in Texas Senate; TRS-Care cost relief for retirees coming to House floor Tuesday

Publish Date: August 14, 2017

An anti-teacher amendment was rejected decisively by a bipartisan majority in the Texas House late on Monday afternoon. Rep. Bill Zedler (R-Arlington) tried to insert the anti-teacher amendment into SB 16, a bill creating a commission to study long-term fixes for school finance and recommend a comprehensive overhaul before the next regular legislative session in January 2019. Zedler's amendment would...

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No Senate Vote on 2018-2019 School Funding; House Vote Pending on Long-Term School-Finance Study; TRS-Care Issue Being Negotiated

Publish Date: August 13, 2017

The Texas Senate keeps delaying a vote on increased school funding for 2018-2019 and now has recessed until 4 p.m. Monday. It may be just as well that they are still working out their stance, because what's on the table so far in the Senate is very little. The $311 million senators have included thus far in their version of HB...

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Texas Senate Delays Vote on School Finance–Have Your Say

Publish Date: August 13, 2017

You have one more day to send your message to the Texas Senate to support a sensible compromise on school finance, because the Senate has delayed action until Sunday evening on the key House bill, HB 21. Send your letter to your state senator now if you have not done so already! These letters matter. Just yesterday Senate Education Committee chair Larry Taylor...

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Senate panel okays stingy substitute for house school-funding plan–our take

Publish Date: August 11, 2017

Speaking in "optimistic opposition" today before the Senate Education Committee, Texas AFT President Louis Malfaro testified against a stingy Senate substitute for the substantial, $1.8-billion school-funding bill passed by the Texas House, HB 21. Malfaro noted that committee chair Sen. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) acknowledged there's room to negotiate up from the meager $311 million in the Senate substitute. Taylor specifically...

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Fight goes on for school funding, TRS retirees’ health-care cost relief

Publish Date: August 10, 2017

With six days left in the current 30-day special session of the Texas Legislature, not a single bill has been passed and sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, despite Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's ardent efforts to push through many hot-button proposals, including private-school vouchers and transgender-discrimination mandates. Still alive in the special session are important school-funding and TRS-Care cost-relief measures. You...

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Get it done! TRS retirees need health-care cost relief NOW

Publish Date: August 9, 2017

The Texas House and Texas Senate both have passed competing bills providing $212 million to cut rising health-care costs they recently imposed on retired school employees. The House passed HB 20 and the Senate passed an equivalent provision as  part of SB 19 in direct response to grass-roots pressure from retired and active school employees. However, with just a week...

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House sends school-finance bills to senate with supermajority support; House Panel Talks Up Use of State Reserves for Necessities Like Education, TRS-Care

Publish Date: August 7, 2017

House Sends School-Finance Bills to Senate with Supermajority Support: The Texas House hardly could have made it clearer today—by overwhelming margins, House members sent the Senate a $1.9-billion school-funding bill (HB 21) by a vote of 130 to 13, and they passed a measure (HB 30) to pay for it from the state’s $10-billion-plus reserve fund, the Economic Stabilization Fund,...

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House action: clean sweep for school funding; committee rejects vouchers

Publish Date: August 4, 2017

It was a clean sweep in the Texas House today for three key bills on school funding: HB 21 to increase school aid; HB 30 to pay for the increase; and HB 23 to provide for autism grants within the public schools. All passed easily on second reading, with the first two garnering 131 and 130 votes respectively and the...

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