Make it Matter Monday 4/28
- ACPTA Advocacy
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
"They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds." |
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LearnThe Texas Education Agency recently got approval from a Texas appellate court to release "accountability ratings," based, primarily on STAAR scores from 2022-23, the year after schools opened after the global COVID pandemic. These ratings have resulted in over 200% more F rated campuses in Texas and is at the heart of the upheaval we're experiencing in our district. This AFT synopsis is the best overall description I've seen of what this all means to all of us. |
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DoContact the House Pub Ed Committee and tell them NO to HB 4. We want our accountability system to reflect only the federal requirements and use a nationally normed assessment, not a state normed assessment, to meet those requirements. We are also opposed to giving the TEA any additional power or control or remove a districts' ability to challenge them in court. |
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ShareThere is a lot going on in our district, from budget deficits to school closure discussions. Please ensure your friends, family, and local communities understand what is being discussed at board meetings and what opportunities exist for you to engage in these important discussions by reading and sharing our weekly Board Recap, written by engaged parent, Sharyn Vane. You can find them on our homepage at https://www.austincouncilpta.org/. |
SPILLING THE CAPITOL TEA Updates SB 2 - Voucher bill The voucher bill passed through the Senate last week and will go to the Governor's desk imminently. For one thing, it'll probably head straight to court from there, which will give us time to focus on getting voters to focus on pro-public education candidates. But, also, we're not going to give up on getting every good bill passed and every bad bill blocked or modified through the rest of the session. We're never giving up making good trouble so the people who foisted this bad bill on us ever, for a moment, think they got away with it unseen. HB 2 - School Funding The bill passed the House and has now been referred to the Senate Education Committee. It is one of the Governor's priorities so we're somewhat hopeful it'll see the light of day without us having to raise a ruckus but we're watching closely. For now, we'll sit and wait. Advocating from Austin could backfire. But we're going to keep paying attention and will let you know if there's anything not destructive we can do to move this along. Share your skills There are lots of bad bills flooding our House and Senate this week. I can't cover them all but use TLO or join advocacy organizations that focus on things like book bans, immigrant rights, maternal health, gender diversity, etc., that we don't cover to make sure you're using your advocacy skills to benefit other communities. It's an important time to show support for everyone we possibly can. |
This Week There is a House Pub Ed hearing on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 8am in the Reagan Building Room 140. Once again, I'm leaning on Heather Sheffield at TASA to list and describe the many bills being heard on Tuesday. I encourage you to look to see if any are interesting to you because we'd love as many folks as possible to testify on as many of the bills as possible. They include bills on FURRIES, the Ten Commandments, extended immunity from liability for charter schools, and educational requirements around teaching about Communism. There are also horrible bills being heard in various other committees throughout the week. This is a good recap from some advocacy friends that go through a lot of bills that we can't cover here. The ACPTA does not endorse their positions but appreciate their insight and it might be helpful to y'all. You can learn more about bills (but often not in time for the hearing) from the House Research Organization or the Senate Research Center. Type in the bill number in the top right corner next to Leg/Ses 89(R) (which means the 89th Legislative Regular Session). HB 4 - AccountabilityThe one we're most interested in is HB 4, Buckley. As TASA previously reported, House Public Education Committee Chair Brad Buckley filed HB 4 as part of his priority legislation. The bill makes changes to the public school assessment and accountability systems, including to the actions and proceedings challenging those state systems. A committee substitute for the bill is expected to be introduced during the hearing, but the language of the substitute is not yet publicly available. Key Concerns for Educators & Public Schools (from AFT) Testing Overhaul, But Not Enough Relief HB 4 redesigns state assessments, reducing multiple-choice questions and streamlining test length. However, it fails to eliminate high-stakes testing pressures that push educators to “teach to the test” instead of fostering real learning. More State Takeovers, Less Local Voice The bill expands the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) authority to take over school districts, increasing the risk of state-appointed managers replacing elected school boards. This further erodes local control and gives the state more power to override educators and communities. Limits on School Districts’ Legal Rights One of the most alarming provisions prohibits school districts from using state funds to challenge education policies in court. This prevents educators and parents from fighting back against harmful state mandates, stripping schools of their right to defend themselves. School Ratings System Still Flawed HB 4 tweaks the accountability system, incorporating workforce readiness and industry-based certifications. While career prep is important, this does nothing to address chronic underfunding, teacher shortages, or classroom resources—the real issues impacting school performance. While HB 4 makes some modest improvements to testing, it tightens state control over public schools, weakens local advocacy, and expands TEA’s authority to punish struggling schools instead of supporting them. Background, scripts, and contact lists for SB 4 can be found in the Call to Action folder. HB 1249 - Accountability/Writing Assessment HB 1249 is authored by Representative Erin Zwiener from Hays County and gives districts a chance to use a writing portfolio to assess writing performance to meet federal accountability requirements. This is a more authentic approach to writing assessments, particularly after AI graded so many of our students writing assessments with a zero in the last administration of the STAAR. We want our reps to Vote YES on this bill. You can submit comments for any of these bills here: https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c400A live video broadcast of this hearing will be available here: https://house.texas.gov/video-audio/ Join us at 8am in the Reagan Building, or whenever you can get there. We will have a room for the day where you can recharge your devices, hone your testimony, or just come and support those of us who will be testifying. Please find out where we'll be on the Band app (https://band.us/@acptaadvocacy) |
Local Advocacy Budget cuts are a painful reality for our district and there are a lot of moving parts. If you are not able to watch the AISD board meetings or join one of the discussions happening in various places and ways, please read our weekly Board Recap, written by engaged parent, Sharyn Vane. You can find them on our homepage at https://www.austincouncilpta.org/. The ACPTA is seeking to gather local PTAs in discussion of what to communicate, and how, to our communities, related to uncertainty and change on our campuses. We have the opportunity to learn from each other, model resilience and partnership in our advocacy, and always serve as a voice for every child. We will publish upcoming conversations as we get going! And consider getting involved in our district. There are a number of advisory committees you can join to get more insight into district-wide initiatives. And please join your Campus Advisory Committee. Fill out this membership application form or reach out to your Principal. Both of these are great ways to stay connected and informed about the issues facing our schools and district right now. |
Advice from Dr. Kauffman during the ACPTA delegate call on Saturday:
He encourages regular comments from our communities at board meetings -- in person, via phone and via email. Share a concern or even shout out great work from a PTA. He would rather have 300 comments to listen to and 400 emails to read than none. |
AISD Advocacy Advisory Committee AISD has an Advocacy Advisory Committee that meets once a month to discuss advocacy efforts and updates. The purpose of the Advocacy Advisory Committee is to assist the district in advancing its legislative priorities at the local, state and federal level. They need more members, including students, parents, community and business members from each of our AISD districts. It's a great place to stay on top of what's happening and also have some input on what can be done about it. I highly encourage y'all to join. Edna Butts, AISD Director, Intergovernmental Relations & Policy Oversight, runs the committee and keeps a bill tracker to help everyone understand district legislative priorities and you can get advocacy updates from the district by reaching out to her at edna.butts@austinisd.org and asking to be included on her email list. |
Don't Let UP! Thanks for all your engagement! Don't stop! The session is winding down and we're almost there. Don't let up the pressure - it's as important as ever to keep making those phone calls. There are more hearings this week and the next and the next. I hope y'all are ready to help us keeping fighting for our schools. We will NEVER give up fighting for the schools, teachers, and community we love. Please join us wherever and however you can! Daphne Hoffacker ACPTA Advocacy Chair advocacy@austincouncilpta.orgaustincouncilpta.org/advocacy |
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