Texas American Federation of Teachers

04/13/2025 | News release | Archived content

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

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 version of a state budget. Keep reading for a full accounting of that budget below. Suffice to say, that budget is deeply inadequate to address the budget crises plaguing this state's public schooldistricts. That budget also includes $1 billionfor a private school voucher program, should it pass this legislative session.

In a week that saw even more headlines about teacher and staff layoffs in our public schools, this is an insult to injury. Next week, we expect school finance bill HB 2 and voucher bill HB 3 to arrive on the House floor for votes. Now is the time to raise our voices - all ofour voices.

McAllen AFT President Sylvia Tanguma said it best Tuesday as she urged her school board to use their platform to urge lawmakers to reject vouchers and fund public schools:

"This is about more than funding - it'sabout the future of public education and the well-being of those who dedicate their lives to it. I urge you to stand with us. Speak out. Let our lawmakers know you oppose vouchers in any form. Tell them to drop HB3-now!"

In this week's Hotline:

  • Recaps of budget night & House and Senate education committee hearings
  • Higher ed doomsday bill SB 37 on the move in the Senate
  • Sen. John Cornyn's good bill for bus drivers
  • Court ruling on TEA's A-F ratings

- Texas Legislature



This Week in the Legislature: Where'sthe 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 that would have all but eliminated STAAR testing, stripped the school voucher proposal out of the budget, and pushed critically needed dollars into the basic allotment for public schools.

The Texas House passed its budget on Thursday, April 10, with zero movement to amend itwith basic allotment increases or voucher concessions. We will have another go at this when the House and Senate begin hammering out a compromise between their versionsof the budget.

But as the House plans to take up school funding bill HB 2 this coming week, now is the time to put even more pressure on your legislators to make real, positive changefor our schools.

Email and call them today and demand realfunding increases for schools.

-Higher Education

This Week in Higher Education: SB 37 Committee Substitute to be Voted on the Senate Floor by Next Week

It was another light week in the House Higher Education Committee, with the hearing mainly focusingon good bills relating to college accessibility.

Unfortunately, we can'tsing the same amount of praise for what the Senate's been up to. The Senate Education K-16 Committee introduced and passed the committee substitute of Senate Bill37, the omnibus bill filed by Sen. Brandon Creighton that aims to change the structure of faculty governance.

- PSRPs

In Washington, Texas' Cornyn Introduces Bill to Address School Bus Driver Shortage



Sen. John Cornyn, along with Sens. Tammy Baldwin, Marsha Blackburn, and Mark Kelly, introduced a bill last Thursday that would address the nationwide school bus driver shortage.

The Driving Forward Act (S.1284) would continue a CDL testing requirement exemption for new school bus drivers.

- TEA

Court Greenlights Release of Delayed A-F Ratings - But the Fight Isn't Over

After months of legal back-and-forth, the Texas Education Agency has announced it will release the long-delayed A-F accountability ratings for the 2022-23 school year. This follows an April 3 rulingfrom the Texas 15th Court of Appeals, overturning a previousinjunction that had blocked the release of the ratings.

The ratings, which reflect how school districts and campuses perform under the state's accountability system, are now set to be shared with districts on April 17 and made public on April 24.

Recommended Reading

Education news from around the state and nation that's worth your time.

Texas proposals would open more options for college accreditation. Here'swhy some oppose. In what proponents say is a "simple cleanup" and opponents call an "unnecessary risk," the Texas House and Senate education committees both are considering bills to expand college accreditation options for all the state's universities. (Austin American-Statesman, April 7)

Socorro ISD, Canutillo ISD layoffs begin as notices go out. The lives of some Socorro and Canutillo independent school district employees were upended late last week as they received a piece of paper informing them that their contracts would not be renewed after the end of the school year.(El Paso Matters, April 8)

Supreme Court Lets Trump Suspend Grants to Teachers. The justices allowed the Trump administration to temporarily suspend $65 million in teacher-training grants, which helped place teachers in poor and rural areas. (The New York Times, April 4)