IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Texas has a Grow Your Own Educator Bill in the Works!

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Dear Friends and Colleagues:

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that Texas has a Grow Your Own Educator bill in the works!  Specifically, the Texas Center for Education Policy at The University of Texas at Austin and the Texas American Federation of Teachers have teamed up to advocate reinstating a successful program—“Grow Your Own Educators (GYO)”—which provides qualified candidates with an exemption from paying higher education tuition while earning a teaching degree.

To show your support, please join us on Monday, March 25, 2019 at 1:00 P.M. in the Speakers Conference Room, 2W.6 (see map) at the Texas State Capitol.  Authored by State Reps. Ana-María Ramos (D-Dallas) and Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) House Bill 3893 and Sen. José Menéndez Senate Bill 2425 (D-San Antonio), restores and improves on its highly popular predecessor, the “Teacher Aide Exemption Program” by extending this opportunity that was originally solely for teacher paraprofessionals to all high school students in the state of Texas with a demonstrated need for financial assistance to attend and work toward certification in an institution of higher education.  

If you cannot make it on Monday, please call your representatives and express support for the bill.  Go here to find out who represents you and start calling!

To share with your networks, you can download the press release below here.  Thank you for your support!

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D., Director

Texas Center for Education Policy

University of Texas at Austin

Downloadable at https://tinyurl.com/y5xh7cau