We are losing educators in droves in Texas schools, from teachers to bus drivers to classroom aides to librarians. Even in higher education, faculty and staff are heading for the exits. 

Those losses have a ripple effect, making day-to-day tasks harder for the staff who remain and leaving students without the services and support they need. 

In a state with the world's eighth-largest economy, we can and must demand better.  

Texas AFT and our 66,000 members across the state are developing an Educator's Bill of Rights, and we're bringing it to the Legislature in 2025. 

Every educator, parent, and community member who signs on in support of our Educator's Bill of Rights brings us closer to introducing it in the 89th Legislature and applying enough pressure on lawmakers to pass it.  

Can your colleagues across Texas count on you to sign on, share with your colleagues, and show your support? 

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In 2025, we are bringing our Educator's Bill of Rights to the 89th Legislature and expecting every lawmaker who touts their support of our public schools to sign on and pass legislation that ensures ... 

• Educators have a right to reasonable working conditions with adequate time to teach in classrooms that are not overcrowded, and with workdays that do not consistently stretch into worknights and work weekends.  

• Educators have a right to fair wages whether they are a classroom teacher making $9,000 less per year than their national peers, or they are a paraprofessional whose paychecks hover near federal poverty thresholds.  

• Educators have a right to a secure retirement that affords them dignity after a lifetime of service and does not require them to come hat in hand every legislative session to beg for a pension that matches inflation.  

• Educators have a right to quality, affordable childcare that allows them to stay in our schools nurturing their students without sacrificing the well-being of their own kids. 

• Educators have a right to healthy, safe, and secure working environments free from the constant worry of gun violence or the guessing game of whether the air-conditioning will keep pace with Texas summer heat.  

• Educators have a right to academic freedom and an end to book-banning and classroom censorship, as well as the attacks on tenure in higher education.  

• Educators have a right to meaningful professional development that compensates teachers for continued striving within their profession and opens doors to support staff and paras to grow into new roles.  

• Educators have the right to organize with their colleagues without fear of retaliation and with the knowledge that collective bargaining leads to better working and learning environments.  

• Educators have a right to democratic representation and a seat at every table making decisions about our schools. That includes the repeal of legislation that allows an appointed education commissioner to undermine the will of voters by replacing their elected school boards. 

• Educators have a right to freedom of religion in our schools without being forced by this state's leaders to choose between violating their students' constitutional rights or violating the state's mandates to force religious instruction upon them. 

These are rights that should be guaranteed to all Texas educators and in every Texas education institution. Only empowered and respected educators can provide students with the necessary support and care to help them thrive.  

Any bill introduced under the banner of the Educator's Bill of Rights should receive priority consideration and enjoy bipartisan support. Texans love their public schools; it's time our Legislature and state officials acted like it.  

Our state leaders have ignored what public school employees and students need for too long. The 89th Legislature starts in January 2025, and we want to put the pressure on lawmakers to pass a real Educator's Bill of Rights that guarantees much needed pay raises, improvements to working & learning conditions, and more. 

By signing on to this petition, I show my support for Texas educators in all roles who work every day to help our kids thrive, from pre-K classrooms all the way to post-doctoral programs. And I support Texas AFT's Educator's Bill of Rights.