From the Forty Acres to the Capitol: Reclaiming Higher Education as a Public Good, by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D. April 15, 2026

From the Forty Acres to the Capitol: Reclaiming Higher Education as a Public Good

by

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

April 15, 2026

Last Monday, under the unforgiving Texas sun, I walked alongside students,faculty, and community members from the University of Texas at Austin to the Texas State Capitol. I took the video myself—one small act of documentation in what felt like a much larger moment of collective purpose. Despite the heat, there was an unmistakable energy among participants: determined, hopeful, and unyielding.

We marched not just in protest, but in affirmation—of what higher education should be.

That same day, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) jointly launched a sweeping new policy framework: A Blueprint for Strengthening and Transforming Higher Education. Timed ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the platform directly confronts the escalating, far-right attacks on colleges and universities across the country—attacks that many of us in Texas know all too well.

At its core, the blueprint insists on something both simple and profound: higher education is a public good, not a corporate enterprise.

The platform centers four urgent pillars: restored public funding so that college is a democratic right rather than a debt sentence; freedom to learn, with protections against ideological policing and political interference; shared governance that restores faculty and staff authority over curriculum and institutional priorities; and labor reform that ends the exploitation of contingent faculty while securing fair wages and collective bargaining rights.

These are not abstract principles. They are urgent interventions in a moment defined by what can only be described as the attempted political capture of our institutions.

It was especially powerful to have Randi Weingarten, national president of the AFT, with us on the ground. In the video I captured, you can also see Todd Wolfson—who also serves as AFT Vice President—alongside UT Austin’s own Christopher Bryan, speaking to the stakes of this moment with clarity and conviction.

What we are witnessing is not just policy debate—it is a struggle over the very purpose of the university.

Will our institutions serve democracy, or will they be hollowed out and repurposed for ideological control?

The AAUP–AFT blueprint answers this question with clarity and resolve. It calls on all of us—educators, students, policymakers, and community members—to actively defend academic freedom, freedom of expression, and the right to protest, while restoring meaningful shared governance and the full protections of tenure. These are not abstract ideals; they are the conditions that make it possible for us to carry out our core missions of teaching, research, and service—and to sustain universities as institutions accountable to the public good rather than to political or corporate control.

As we made our way to the Capitol, step by step, chant by chant, I was reminded that these rights are never simply granted—they are claimed, defended, and renewed through collective struggle.

It was a proud day. And a necessary one.

Faculty, Students Speak Out Against Censorship at Texas A&M, by Texas AFT, January 23, 2026

Friends:

What’s unfolding at Texas A&M University is a sobering sign of how academic freedom is being hollowed out in Texas. After Dr. Leonard Bright spoke publicly against the censorship of Plato’s Symposium, his own long-standing graduate course was abruptly cancelled, with administrators framing the move as a warning about “process” and accreditation. Under new system rules requiring administrative approval of syllabi, education is being reduced to the bare minimum, while faculty are chilled into silence and students are denied the full value of their education. As faculty and students warned at a recent press conference, when universities punish open inquiry and censor core texts, they don’t protect rigor or neutrality—they diminish the credibility and actual value of their expensive degrees and the democratic mission of public higher education itself.

So proud that they still protested all this extremist nonsense.

-Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Faculty, Students Speak Out Against Censorship at Texas A&M

Publish Date: January 23, 2026 12:54 pm
Author: Texas AFT

Dr. Leonard Bright, the president of the Texas A&M (TAMU) College Station AAUP chapter, spoke publicly against the censorship of Plato in philosophy class. Two days later, his own class was cancelled – and he found out via an email sent to the entire Bush School of Government & Public Affairs. The dean specifically named professor Bright in an email to his colleagues and used the course cancellation as a warning about following university processes. TAMU System’s Policy 08.01, which came into effect in December 2025, subjects all syllabi to review and approval by system administrators. This course review led to the censorship of Plato’s Symposium in Dr. Martin Peterson’s intro-level philosophy class for the reading’s discussion of love and biological sexes. As the TAMU AAUP-AFT chapter president, Dr. Bright has been leading the conversation against censorship at the university.

Dr. Bright has taught his graduate-level class, “Ethics of Public Policy,” for six years– the syllabus for which has largely remained unchanged each year. His syllabus this year even included a statement clarifying the types of discussion the class is expected to have: “Students are not expected to agree with the instructor’s perspectives, and respectful disagreement and critical engagement are explicitly welcomed and encouraged.” Lori Taylor, the head of the department of public service and administration, asked professor Bright to justify his course content on whether “professionals in the field are required to know the information” or if “the content is necessary for accreditation.”

Dr. Bright says he uses “case studies, theories, and current events to explore ethical dilemmas faced by public servants whom he believes should be aware of their blind spots.” Coursework and discussions outside of accreditation requirements are what makes academic programs competitive: will students have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the field beyond the bare minimum? Will students enter an increasingly competitive workforce with the skills and social intelligence to set them apart from the hundreds of other graduates applying for the same jobs? When a world-class university like Texas A&M lowers its educational standards to merely “is it required for accreditation?” it is no longer a prestigious institution and instead has set itself on a path to becoming a degree-mill.

Faculty and students at press conference at TAMU, January 22.

Dr. Leonard Bright speaking.

Faculty and students want better for their school. Yesterday, Texas AAUP-AFT joined with the TAMU chapter of MOVE Texas in a press conference to condemn course cancellations and attacks on academic freedom. Speakers included Dr. Joan Wolf, associate professor of sociology, Dr. Bright, Dr. Peterson, Vice President of the A&M chapter of MOVE Texas Robert Day and sociology undergraduate student Leah Tolan. As the leaders spoke, a crowd gathered around to listen to their statements.

“We are being laughed at in the rest of the world. No one takes Texas A&M seriously anymore. Degrees, your degrees, the thing that you pay lots of money for, will not have the same value because you are being censored.” – Dr. Joan Wolf

Student speakers emphasized the cheapening of their education. Robert Day, a junior civil engineering student, says “The promise of college, and the promise of learning freely without fear is taken away. I wasn’t the only student that was promised to.” Leah Tolan says “We deserve the education we are investing our money in. Students are left without the tools to understand real-world issues that they will inevitably encounter beyond the classroom.”

Professor Peterson noted that it is becoming more difficult to recruit faculty: “The first question we get from candidates has to do with academic freedom. It’s not easy to recruit when candidates are scared.”

“We have families to feed and mortgages to pay. We don’t have the privilege to change jobs. We do this job because we care about civil discourse,” said Dr. Wolf.

Dr. Bright closed out the press conference with demands to the TAMU system: “Today we demand that Texas A&M ends classroom censorship immediately, restore academic freedom to the faculty, reinstate improperly cancelled courses, let Plato out of his cage, guarantee truthful, rigorous education for our students, end all retaliation against faculty who refuse to voluntarily censor their courses, return circular authority back to the educators, back to the experts, to the faculty, protect the value in credibility of Texas A&M’s degrees and reaffirm its commitment to all of Texans.”

Honoring Education Austin's Ken Zarifis—A Champion of Public Education Who Now Needs Our Support

Friends:

On June 4th, longtime Education Austin President Ken Zarifis was critically injured in a devastating car accident that sent him to the Emergency Room in critical condition. He has since undergone reconstructive surgery to the right side of his face and body and remains in the ICU, where he is under close care by nurses and doctors. His recovery will be long and arduous, involving additional surgeries, physical therapy, and intensive rehabilitation.

Ken has been a tireless advocate for Austin’s public schools, teachers, and students for decades. From organizing against the IDEA charter school takeover in East Austin to helping flip the AISD school board in 2012, Ken’s leadership has demonstrated the power of grassroots, local organizing. Under his stewardship, Education Austin—affiliated with both Texas AFT and the Texas State Teachers Association—has won major victories: securing districtwide pay raises, defending safe and manageable working conditions, and advancing inclusive policies for LGBTQ and immigrant communities. Through DACA clinics, citizenship drives, and coalition-building at the Capitol, he has stood unwaveringly for justice and public education.

Ken is also a single father of three, one of whom he still cares for at home. His children—who love him deeply—are doing their best to support one another as he fights to heal. In addition to the emotional toll, the family faces enormous financial pressures. Helping his children manage daily life and covering the costs of ongoing medical treatment will require all the community support we can offer.

If you’ve ever been moved by Ken’s work—or if you believe in the kind of community-rooted, fearless leadership he represents—please consider contributing to support his recovery and his family during this extraordinarily difficult time.

🩵 GoFundMe: Support Ken Zarifis’ Family and Recovery
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-ken-zarifis-family-and-recovery

Let us now stand for the person who has stood for so many of us. Your support—whether through donations, sharing the campaign, or lifting Ken and his family in your thoughts—can make all the difference.

I’m also honored to share a powerful story by Brant Bingamon in The Austin Chronicle on Ken and Education Austin’s incredible legacy of advocacy and transformation in our schools. Ken, we love you and need you to get well and be well more than ever! 💗

–Angela Valenzuela

Austin’s Powerful Education Union Celebrates 25 Years of Fighting for Teachers’ Voices
Leader Ken Zarifis talks “hard-work magic” of public education

by Brant Bingamon, Fri., June 13, 2025

Education Austin’s leader Ken Zarifis speaks in 2023 (photo by Jana Birchum)

Ken Zarifis remembers when Education Austin, the union representing Austin’s public school teachers and staff, first began to push Austin ISD’s board of trustees. It was 2011 and AISD was considering whether to allow a charter school to take over Allan Elementary on the city’s Eastside.

The plan was for the IDEA charter school to begin with Allan Elementary, then take over Martin Middle School, and, eventually, former Johnston High School, to bring up the schools’ test scores. Public school supporters were furious. Zarifis went to the school board trustee representing his neighborhood and asked her to oppose the plan. Zarifis and other members of Education Austin filled the board of trustees’ public meeting on the night of the vote to speak against it. The trustees still approved the takeover 6-3.

“I’ll never forget it,” Zarifis said. “We started chanting, 'We will vote you out! We will vote you out!’ We went outside, we were all in this big circle, and we said, 'We have to start looking for people to flip the board, for candidates.’ By February, we’d found four people.”

Three of the four – Gina Hinojosa, Jayme Mathias, and Ann Teich – won their elections the next fall, flipping the board against the takeover. At their first meeting in December of 2012, the trustees canceled the district’s contract with IDEA. The takeover of Allan Elementary lasted four months.
“It’s all about local. That’s all that matters to me. I can’t do a damn thing about national stuff, but I can do a lot locally and that’s what I lean into.”– Education Austin’s Ken Zarifis

“I’d never seen electoral politics work in such a local and direct fashion,” Zarifis said. “They terminated it on the first night that they were all sitting there. You suddenly see: We’ve got power.”

That wasn’t always the case for Education Austin, which has been celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Zarifis’ predecessor, Louis Malfaro, who served as the organization’s president starting in 1999, when the Austin Federation of Teachers and Austin Association of Teachers merged to create EA, said the board of trustees was not necessarily a progressive body during his tenure, that the union needed to assert its power. “We used to be nothing,” Malfaro said. “The teachers in the city, we didn’t run the show. West Austin ran the show. The Chamber of Commerce ran the show.”

It’s been different since the IDEA charter school fight. Zarifis estimates that the union’s preferred candidates have only lost two or three of the trustee races in which the union has endorsed since 2012. All nine of the current trustees were endorsed by the union. District leaders consult with Education Austin so often that it is almost an arm of the district itself. “Ken’s like the 10th school board member,” Malfaro said.

Education Austin has used that influence to fight for districtwide pay increases for teachers and staff, reduced workloads, shared decision-making, and safe working conditions. “They’ve been very successful in advocating for raises for teachers and classified staff,” Ann Teich said. “They’ve also been very successful in advocating for a workday that is manageable – you know, a duty-free lunch and that kind of thing, something I always appreciated when I was a teacher. They’ve also been successful in advocating at the Legislature to some degree.”

Morgan Craven remembers partnering with Education Austin at the state Capitol in 2017. Craven, who at the time was working for the social justice nonprofit Texas Appleseed, had seen federal data showing that young students, disproportionately black children and those with disabilities, were being suspended from school at rates higher than other kids. She wanted to change state law to limit the suspensions.

Craven had no background in education so Zarifis introduced her to his community. “He was like, 'Okay, we’re doing this – let’s do it,’” Craven said. “He got teachers involved in the advocacy. We were working with young people in the advocacy. We were working directly with the district in the advocacy. And I don’t know if that was on his agenda, to suddenly devote this much time to this particular issue, but he just jumped into it.” The advocates got a law passed to limit out-of-school suspensions for young students. The reform was undone this session with the approval of House Bill 6, which once again makes it easier for teachers to suspend students.

“We used to be nothing. The teachers in the city, we didn’t run the show.”– Former Education Austin President Louis Malfaro

Louis Malfaro back in 2010 (Photo by John Anderson)

Education Austin’s vice president Trasell Underwood remembers the leaders who put it on the map, starting with Malfaro, who worked out a consultation agreement with the district allowing the union to discuss wages and working conditions. She praised other EA leaders who recognized the power that would come from merging the previous unions into one entity. She recalled how former VP Montserrat Garibay helped Education Austin organize DACA clinics and citizenship drives, where families sat down with attorneys to begin the process of becoming citizens. She said it was members of the union who pushed the district to support its LGBTQ workers and students by participating in Pride celebrations. “It was Education Austin that went to the district and forced the conversation,” she said.

Zarifis joined the union soon after taking a job as an English teacher at Burnet Middle School in 1998. Today, the school is threatened with a charter school takeover, just like Allan Elementary was in 2012. The state of Texas, through the Texas Education Agency, is forcing AISD to replace the leadership and about half the teachers at Burnet, Webb, and Dobie middle schools in an effort to improve the schools’ test scores. If the scores don’t come up by December, the schools will be handed to charter school management, starting in 2026. The district is planning to close and consolidate other schools.

It’s a crisis that Education Austin has repeatedly confronted during Zarifis’ tenure as president. In 2012, the union partnered with Gina Hinojosa, who had just been elected president of the AISD board of trustees, to save Johnston High School from being closed. (The school was renamed Eastside Early College High School in 2008.)

“I met with Education Austin and other community advocates every week for that whole school year, working to make sure we were on top of ensuring that school would stay open,” said Hinojosa, now a state representative. “At the high school graduation ceremony, the TEA commissioner announced they had met accountability standards. It was just the coolest community effort when it succeeded. But Education Austin was there and that’s how I knew they were a reliable ally and partner.”

Zarifis stresses that it is the union’s focus on local organizing that has made it effective in a state that is adamantly anti-union. “It’s all about local,” Zarifis said. “That’s all that matters to me. I can’t do a damn thing about national stuff, but I can do a lot locally and that’s what I lean into. Most of the stuff that impacts our lives day-to-day happens locally – what the City Council does, what the school board does.”

Zarifis said this is one of the things he loves about public education – that ultimately it’s a grassroots, community-led enterprise. “It’s the most glorious thing. There’s no institution that’s more magnificent, as flawed as as our public school system is, in creating the future, every bit of it. Show me one other institution that’s creating the future. That’s like magic shit. It’s so otherworldly, but it’s hard work. It’s not like a magic-wand kind of magic. It’s hard-work magic.”

Higher Ed Bills in the 2025 Texas Legislature—from Texas AAUP and Texas AFT, AFL-CIO—Updated April 23, 2025

Friends:

I'm happy to simply be a conduit for this super helpful roster of bills that represent Texas AAUP and Texas AFT legislative priorities, bills about which to be concerned, and hopeful bills.

Hats off to the excellent work of the Texas AAUP and Texas Texas American Federation of Teachers.  I'm a proud member of Texas AAUP that is in partnership with the Texas AFT. I'm in Houston right now getting a check-up at MD Anderson. Sharing this is the least I can do.

-Angela Valenzuela

Higher Ed Bills in the 2025 Texas Legislature
January 22, 2025| academic freedom, faculty senates, freedom to research, freedom to teach, shared governance, tenure

Updated April 23, 2025.

Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) affiliated with the Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFT, AFL-CIO


Leaders of Texas AFT and Texas AAUP-AFT advocating on the Opening Day of the Texas Legislative Session, January 14, 2025





Please consider joining Texas AAUP-AFT to advocate for the freedom to learn, teach, and research, and here are several reasons to join. Below, we give a short introduction to higher ed in Texas, the Texas AAUP-AFT higher ed Legislative priorities, concerning higher ed bills, promising higher ed bills, and a list of higher ed bills filed. All bills have now been filed for this session.

A Short Introduction to Higher Education in Texas

Texas has 1.4M students and about 80,000 faculty in public higher education: [Ref]

74 community & technical colleges -- meet workforce development needs for Texas in skilled labor (e.g. plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, welders, and medical technicians) and prepare students for additional educational opportunities at universities

37 universities – give students the foundation to enter professional careers (e.g. business, community service, engineering government, journalism, law, nursing, STEM, and teaching) and develop innovative research ideas and technologies.

15 health institutions – provide medical treatment in all 254 counties in Texas, including half of the 22M clinical visits each year and 1 in 7 who seek hospital care in Texas. For example, MD Anderson Cancer Center is part of the UT System.

At these institutions, faculty help students develop the critical thinking, knowledge, skills, and professional networks for responsible citizenship and productive careers.

In 2024, Texas enrolled 1.56 million students, with more than 90% being at public institutions. [Ref] Two-year community colleges and four-year public universities enrolled about 675,000 students each in 2023, and health institutions enrolled 27,410. In addition, 500,000 dual credit high school students took college courses in 2024, with 93% at two-year public colleges and 7% at public four-year colleges. Among all Texas residents enrolled in college, 14.7% leave the state to attend school. [Ref]

According to a study by the National Science Foundation, State of Texas funding per full-time public higher education student dropped from $6,292 in 2002 to $5,541 in 2023 after adjusting for inflation.

Each public university and health institution is governed by one of the seven university systems whose governing boards are appointed by the Governor. There are also 50 community college districts whose governing boards are elected by the local community. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board coordinates higher ed activities among the six university systems and 50 community college districts.

Research expenditures by public institutions in fiscal year 2020 were $5.4B from federal ($3B), state ($1.4B), and private ($1B) sources. The public institutions with the largest research expenditures were The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ($1.2B), Texas A&M University ($1.1B), and The University of Texas at Austin ($0.9B) in fiscal year 2020.

Texas AAUP-AFT Higher Education Legislative Priorities

Higher Education Legislative Priorities for Texas AAUP-AFT include the following four items:

1. Freedom to Learn and Teach: Encouraging and protecting free inquiry, free expression, intellectual exploration, and open dissent.

Instructors have expertise in their discipline through advanced study, work experience, scholarly work, and lifelong learning. Exercising freedom of expression and other First Amendment Rights empowers instructors to help students develop the critical thinking, knowledge, training, and professional networks needed for successful careers. Students and instructors develop and disseminate new knowledge from all viewpoints, including conservative, moderate, liberal, and apolitical, without institutional censorship.

2. Scholarly Research and Creative Works: Removing barriers hindering researchers to win government and private grants.

SB 17 (88th Session) banned diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment practices. SB 17 exempts scholarly research and creative works, but neither bans nor exempts grants. Researchers at community colleges, universities, and health institutions are struggling to apply for and receive research funding even if the research is not related to DEI employment practices. This funding funds students to learn advanced skills, and is vital for Texas having the most Research 1 (16) and Research 2 (16) universities of any state:

R1: at least $50M/year in external research funding and award 70+ research doctorates/year.
R2: at least $5M/year in external research funding and award 20+ research doctorates/year.

At R1 institutions, 50% of the faculty are tenured or tenure-track vs. 41% for R2 institutions vs. 33% across all institutions. [Ref] For example, tenured faculty lead multi-site teams to compete for large federal grants, such as the $20M+ 10-year NSF Engineering Research Centers. Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UT El Paso, and UT Austin have these centers. Tenured faculty help institutions in many other ways. [Ref] See the next item.

3. Faculty Economic Security & Tenure: Upholding current tenure policies that recruit and retain workforce development instructors.

Tenure is earned after a six-year tenure-track probationary period of rigorous annual evaluations and a cumulative evaluation of teaching, research, and service. Due to long-term employment, tenure-track and tenured faculty bring the bulk of external research funding, support degrees and certificates, and serve in administrative and leadership roles. To support workforce development, Del Mar College recruits and retains Welding Faculty through tenured positions to compete with the much higher salaries in industry. Tenured faculty undergo peer-based performance review to foster academic professional development. Tenure and tenure-track positions grant faculty due process in dismissals. Non-tenure-track faculty typically receive one-year employment contracts which can be non-renewed without due process.

4. Faculty Senates and Other Advisory Faculty Bodies: Supporting faculty input to improve curriculum, teaching methods, research, and hiring decisions.

On campus, a Faculty Senate is the faculty body elected by faculty that provides a forum for communication among faculty, students, staff, and administration. This forum helps coordinate the division of labor among the four constituent groups to create environments and opportunities for learning and growth for students. Faculty Senates make recommendations to the President on how to foster the highest quality curriculum, teaching methods, research, and faculty, including removal of redundancy in the curriculum. Faculty Senates are a key safeguard for freedom of expression across campus including in learning, teaching, and research. The Faculty Senate and other Faculty Advisory Bodies work cooperatively with the administration in the approval of degrees and other credentials. On all matters, institutional approval resides with the president.

HIGHER EDUCATION BILLS OF CONCERN

April 3, 2025 Update on the Crucial Work of Texas AAUP and Texas AFT in the Texas Legislature

Friends,

I can't say enough about the excellent leadership we have in Texas fighting the good fight for higher education, meaning the right to learn, teach, and conduct research. C'mon folks it's not hard to see why we need this freedom in Texas higher education.

It is shady, by the way, that the legislature didn't livestream their voucher hearing today in the Texas State Legislature as they always do. It's crazy that folks watched the hearing on Twitter instead of the full light of day. Glad that the Twitter work-around allowed it to get covered regardless.

In any case, take a few minutes to listen to this April 3rd update on various bills under consideration at the Texas State Capitol. Thanks to Patty Quinzi, Amanda Garcia, and Brian Evans for all their incredible advocacy this session. AAUP and Texas AFT together constitute a formidable partnership. If your any one you know needs academic freedom and protection, please join AAUP here: https://connect.aft.org/app/memberforms/8041A/JoinTheFight

Happy to share.

-Angela Valenzuela

SB 37 – Faculty Senates & Curriculum—Texas AFT Bill Summary & Talking Points

Here is another analysis of SB 37 from Texas AFT. Numerous groups are engaged in this struggle, with Amanda Garcia emerging as a powerhouse organizer, leading the charge with remarkable skill and unwavering dedication. 

She works closely with AAUP President Brian Evan on the numerous bills targeting higher education, including those by Senators Bettencourt and Middleton, SB 1489, and SB 452, respectively, that are mentioned at the end of this AFT Summary below.

I applaud the numerous organizations involved, including Texas Students for DEI that Amanda and her peers formed during the 2023 session in response to Senate Bill 17, Texas' anti-DEI bill.

You can follow them on Instagram @txstudentsfordei

I re-post herein their most recent posts on these bad bills. Go to tinyurl.com/legetoolkit to their super helpful toolkit to learn of what you can do to combat these terrible proposals.

-Angela Valenzuela

SB 37 – Faculty Senates & Curriculum

Texas AFT Bill Summary & Talking Points

Contact agarcia@texasaft.org 

Broad Overview: SB 37 restructures the governance of public institutions of higher education by establishing oversight committees, increasing the power of governing boards, and limiting the autonomy of faculty councils to advisory roles. It mandates comprehensive evaluations of curricula and administrative decisions, tying state funding to compliance with new procedural standards. These changes constrain academic freedom, centralize excessive control in governing bodies, and burden institutions with bureaucratic processes that will hinder their educational mission and innovation.

SECTION 1: General Education Review Committees (Sec. 51.315) 

• A new section, Section 51.315, is added to the Education Code establishing a "General Education Review Committee" for each institution of higher education.
• Each institution must form a review committee to annually "maintain or eliminate” courses in the core curriculum and check for workforce alignment.
• Shall ensure courses in the curriculum “do not endorse specific public policies, ideologies, or legislation” 

• Composition: Committees may include tenured faculty and local industry partners.
• Duties: The committee ensures courses are foundational, prepare students for civic and professional life, and are free from ideological endorsements.
• Recommendations: Committees make recommendations on course retention or elimination, and institutions must publicly post these before board consideration.

• Compliance Reporting: Institutions must certify compliance annually to the Office of Excellence and provide reports to continue receiving state funds. 
• Institutions may not spend appropriated funds until the governing board submits to the legislature and THECB certifies compliance.

SECTION 2: Governing Board Powers and Duties (Sec. 51.352) 

• New Responsibilities for Governing Boards: Boards will now have the authority to approve or deny the hiring of individuals for specific leadership positions (vice president, provost, dean, etc.) and must regularly evaluate the chief executive officer to assist them in achieving performance goals such as student retention and graduation rates.
• “Maintaining or increasing student retention and graduation rates, the amount of money available for research, and making efforts to ensure a variety of perspectives are represented among administration and faculty”

• Decision-Making Authority: Governing boards can now overturn decisions made by campus administrations and must post notices on their websites about meetings where finalists for leadership positions will be considered, along with the curriculum vitae of those candidates.
• Annual Reporting: The governing board must annually report to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house, and each member of the legislature a report regarding decisions made by the board for the academic year on:
• The hiring of administration and faculty, curriculum, any review and evaluation of the institution’s administration

SECTION 3: Faculty Council or Senate (Sec. 51.3522) 

• Sec. 51.3522 Defines a faculty council or senate, and only the governing board may establish a faculty council/senate that adopts the policies:
• Members must be tenured.
• For each college or school: one member appointed by the institution president, one member elected by faculty vote.
• A faculty senate is advisory only, and “may not publish a report directly related to the council’s duties.”
• Each proposal from faculty senates must be reviewed by the governing board, institution administration, and system administration. 
• A member serves a one-year term and may only be a member again after four years.

• Notices/business must be made public:
• Agendas “with sufficient detail to indicate the items on which final action is contemplated”
• Votes must also be public when pertaining to a vote of no confidence and policies related to curriculum and academic standards.
• Advertisements for tenured faculty positions except STEM fields

SECTION 4: Minor Degree and Certificate Programs Review (Sec. 51.989) 

• Sec. 51.989 is added to specify the review process for minor degree and certificate programs
• 🚩Review Criteria: The president and provost must develop a process for reviewing minor and certificate programs and identify programs with low enrollment, leading to consolidation or elimination. 
• To avoid consolidation or elimination, undergraduate programs must have graduated at least 10 students in the preceding two years, OR at least 5 students enrolled at the time of review; graduate programs must have at least 3 students enrolled at the time of review and 3 students graduated in the preceding two years.
• Must show industry data demonstrating workforce demand for the program.
• Periodic Review: Presidents and provosts conduct reviews every four years, subject to board approval for any changes. 

SECTION 5: Governing Board Member Training (Sec. 61.084)

• Training Content: Focuses on roles, duties, governance topics like ethics, policy development, and budgeting.
• Topics covered: audit procedures, legislation that creates higher education institutions, the role of governing boards including its disciplinary and investigative authorities, faculty council/senate policies, the Legislature and state budget.
• Affirmation: Board members must affirm understanding of their responsibilities upon completing training. 

SECTION 6: Faculty Evaluation (Sec. 51.942) 

• Evaluation Process: New requirement for comprehensive performance evaluations for tenured faculty members to occur at least once every six years and no more than once every yea
• Performance evaluation is based on teaching, research, service, patient care, administration, and peer review. It should also be directed toward professional development. The performance evaluation will incorporate “commonly recognized” due process rights. For those receiving unsatisfactory ratings, a short-term development plan with performance benchmarks must be established.
• 🚩 “A faculty member is subject to revocation of tenure or disciplinary action for incompetency, neglect of duty, or other good cause; a faculty member may not be involved in decision-making in a grievance review process or faculty discipline process.”

SECTION 7: Office of Excellence in Higher Education (Ch. 454, Government Code)

• Establishment: The Office of Excellence in Higher Education, administratively attached to the THECB. The director of the office will be appointed by the governor with approval by the senate.
• “Serves at the pleasure of the governor.”
• Mandates the creation of General Education Review Committees within each institution to annually assess the core curriculum and provide recommendations on coursework, ensuring that these courses meet foundational educational standards while maintaining neutrality regarding public policies.
• Role: Acts as an intermediary between the legislature, the public, and institutions. The office is responsible for investigating noncompliance by institutions with state law or institution policy. An institution must respond to the office’s information request within 30 days. Findings will be submitted to the attorney general and the governing board and is subject to investigation. 
• Annual Report: The office will submit an annual report to the governor, lieutenant governor, the attorney general, and the chair of each standing committee the number of reports of noncompliance, the number of investigations, and a summary of investigations results.

SECTION 8-11: Implementation and Transition 

• Timelines: Implementation begins in the 2025-2026 academic year, with initial recommendations due by 2027. 
• Existing Councils: Current faculty councils must be reconstituted or ratified by October 1, 2025, to comply with new standards. These sections collectively aim to increase oversight and standardize processes across Texas public higher education institutions, with significant implications for governance, academic freedom, and administrative operations.
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• 

A Deepening Manufactured Crisis in Texas public Education: 70% of Texas Teachers Consider Quitting Due to Lack of Funding

Friends,

This is a deepening manufactured crisis in Texas public education. Despite

surpluses in state dollars, our governor refuses to finance our schools. 

His is a classist and racist neoliberal agenda—one of acquisition by dispossession. And all with our hard-earned tax dollars.

-Angela Valenzuela

Geez, what a crisis. We are witnessing a slow-moving train wreck that constitutes the un-doing of public education. It was bound to reach a breaking point. Teachers can only take so much. They're people, too, and they deserve to enjoy professional identities that allow them to impart their craft.

Instead, they're demonized at every turn and told that they are indoctrinating children instead of enjoying not solely the respect but the joy of teaching that motivated to the profession to begin with.

I'm in the very large camp, by the way, that says that children should get taught more critically—alongside most Texas parents with public school children (see the Butt Foundation report titled, Connected Through Our Schools) This anti-CRT, anti-LGBTQ nonsense is not only toxic, but it's literally scaring people from the profession. If these folks decrying alleged indoctrination cared so much about public education, they'd be pushing for funding it. Instead, they opt for engaging in a contrived culture war.

And now conservative Republican members of the legislature want to push vouchers next session—presumably to kill off what remains of a public education system that is already in shambles so that the private sector can gnaw on and reap profits from its rotting remains.

However predictable, given how policy has been trending, this is nevertheless terribly sad and enraging. This will result in terrible costs, in particular, to children attending high-poverty schools—which is a majority of schools in the state of Texas. According to this Sept. 6, 2022 news item on recent test scores that cites the Texas Education Agency:

"The TEA labels schools as high poverty if more than 80 percent of their students are economically disadvantaged. Texas has about 5.4 million students in its public schools, and 60 percent of them are economically disadvantaged."

Our system of testing, by the way, has also got to go, as this is pushing teachers, administrators, and children to their limits. Tens of millions have gone into this system, resulting in a real opportunity cost of not prioritizing what should be other priorities like raising teacher salaries, improving decaying infrastructure, improving teacher working conditions, and enhancing teacher professional development. We should live in a world where teachers are not only paid well, but they get opportunities to present at conferences, pursue creative projects, and have access to funded sabbaticals and enjoy excellent retirement benefits, and Academic Freedom like university professors. Students should enjoy project-based and portfolio-based learning and Ethnic Studies and other real-world, quality learning opportunities. Let's face this nightmare with a stronger vision that our families and communities can get behind.

I do hope that Texas teachers leverage their associations like Texas AFT and the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA), to push hard for what they want and need this next legislative session that begins in January 2023—and to push back on vouchers while they're at it.

I also hope that Texas teachers and the public, as a whole, vote in great numbers in November. It couldn't be more urgent.

-Angela Valenzuela

77% of Texas teachers are seriously considering quitting as morale plummets, new poll shows

Edward McKinley, Staff writer | Houston Chronicle | Sep. 8, 2022

Parents line up with their children outside Alief ISD’s Martinez Early Learning Center for the first day of school Monday, Aug. 8, 2022 in Houston.

Brett Coomer/Staff photographer

Citing financial stress, a toxic workplace culture and a recent lack of support and respect, more than three-quarters of Texas teachers are seriously considering leaving the profession, a poll from the Charles Butt Foundation found.

The poll results are consistent with an August survey published by the Texas State Teachers Association that found 70 percent of teachers were considering quitting.

The foundation has conducted polling of Texas teachers for the last three years, and the percentage of teachers seriously considering a departure has risen from 58 percent in 2020 to 77 percent this year.

LAST MONTH: More Texas teachers on verge of quitting than at any time in the last 40 years, survey finds

Funded by the foundation, the poll is conducted by a New York City research firm that is also the primary pollster for ABC News.

There are thousands of unfilled job openings across the state, even as the new school year began in recent weeks. Earlier this year, Gov. Greg Abbott convened a task force led by the Texas Education Agency to study chronic teacher workforce shortages in the state, but the problem persists.

Meanwhile, the teaching profession has increasingly been viewed with distrust by conservatives who are complaining at every level of state government about what they see as liberal indoctrination in the classroom.

The Legislature passed a law banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory and restricting how political issues can be discussed in social studies classes. Outraged parents around the state have taken to school boards and challenged books in their children’s classrooms, calling some with LGBT themes pornographic. And the State Board of Education last week bowed to political pressure from conservative activists and set aside a year of work from teachers and experts who had worked to rewrite the state’s social studies curriculum, angering teachers groups.

The percentage of teachers who “feel valued by Texans overall” was just 17 percent, down from 44 percent in 2020, and just 5 percent feel valued by the state’s elected officials.

Just over 80 percent of teachers said they felt they were paid unfair wages, and 98 percent said they spent personal funds on classroom supplies. Research groups consistently find that Texas lags behind the national average in teacher pay, and experts point to increased pay as the most simple way to address the workforce shortage.

The poll was designed to be representative of the opinion of the more than 375,000 Texas teachers. From the list of all teachers, thousands at-random were asked to fill out the poll questions, and ultimately the sample size was about 1,300 teachers. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.

Edward McKinley

Edward McKinley reports on Texas state government and politics from the Hearst Bureau in Austin for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News.

He is a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism and a 2020 graduate of Georgetown's Master's in American Government program. He previously reported for The Albany Times Union and the Kansas City Star newspapers, and he originally hails from the great state of Minnesota.