Oct. 24, 2025: Members, give your input

As many of you know, the state of Texas doesn'tgather enoughdata on our schools, and especially not on the working lives of educators. Each year,Texas AFT takeson this task because we know how vital current and accuratedata is for our fight to improve educator rights across the state. Your response to our annual membership survey directly informs ourunion's priorities and advocacy. In our union, your individual voice makes a differencefor our collective work!

You can find the link to the survey in your email inbox. The survey windowclosesnext week, so take a few minutes this weekend to make your voice heard.

And though we desire to improve the work lives of all Texas education employees, this survey is for members only, so please do not share the link with non-members.

• No Kings Day
• Free speech on campus
• Student debt relief
• Voucher updates

This past Saturday, Oct. 18, 7 million Americans turned out to more than 2,700 peaceful marches and nonviolent for the second No Kings Day of action. At least one event took place in all 50 states in opposition to democratic backsliding, as well as large global protests led by Americans abroad.

This was the sequel to the No Kings Day of action in June, which drew an estimated 5 million people, as well as the Hands Off!day of action in March, in which 3 million Americans participated.

The growth in turnout made Saturday'scoordinated, nonviolent events one of the largest days of protest in American history.

At Texas State University in San Marcos, Dr. Thomas Alter's termination has been upheld after a court‐ordered reinstatement. Meanwhile, at the University of Texas at Austin, the administration remainsnotably silent on President Donald Trump's "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education."

These two significant events, themselves part of a larger attack on Texas public universities, mark a continued downward spiral for the right to free speech in higher education.

In a major victory for educators and public service workers, AFT has reached a settlementwith the U.S. Department of Education, with the Trump Administration agreeing to resume processing student loan forgiveness under the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) program.

This outcome follows months of legal actionand advocacy by AFT, which sued after the administration abruptly halted loan discharges earlier this year, leaving thousands of borrowers in limbo despite years of on-time payments. The settlement ensures that forgiveness for eligible borrowers will restart immediatelyand that all pending IDR applications will be reviewed and processed in the coming weeks.

Even though Gov. Greg Abbott's long-sought private school voucher law has been passed and enacted, the fight to support Texas public schools is far from over. Public education advocates across the state are mobilizing fortransparency and accountability in what will be one of the largest voucher programs in the nation.

Our Schools Our Democracy(OSOD) has launched a new online hub, "Take Action Against Vouchers,"to help Texans track how the new program unfolds and to stay engaged in defending neighborhood public schools. The site includes key updates, calls to action, and resources to monitorthe rollout of the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), a voucher program expected to divert over $1 billionin taxpayer funds from public schools during its first two years.

SB 10 Listening Session

Tuesday, Oct. 28

6 p.m. CT | Register for Zoom link

If you work in Texaspublic schools, you'veheard about Senate Bill 10, the new law that requires every classroom to display a copy of the Ten Commandments.

3.5 million Texans will see food assistance halted if government shutdown continues. Texas officials began notifying the state's poorest residents that their food benefits via the Supplemental Food Assistance and Nutrition Program, or SNAP, will be cut off in November if the federal shutdown continues past Oct. 27. In Texas, 3.5 millionpeoplerely each month on SNAP, including 1.7 million children. (The Texas Tribune, Oct. 17)