Austin, TX

'Educator Bill of Rights' seeks to address teacher pay, safety in upcoming Texas session

Published

1 year ago

September 4, 2024

'Educator Bill of Rights' seeks to address teacher pay, safety in upcoming Texas session

AUSTIN, Texas — We’re a few months away from the start of a new legislative session and the Texas American Federation of Teachers is laying out the priorities they’d like lawmakers to address.

Known as the Educator Bill of Rights, it looks to address critical problems such as teacher pay.

The A.F.T. says the public education system is broken, forcing teachers, bus drivers, and support staff out of the profession and leaving schools to close or operate without the resources they need. In a state sitting on a $32 billion surplus, the group hopes these priorities could right the ship, with “rights” covering everything from teacher pay, to book bans and classroom safety.

“All of this is connected to funding, it’s all connected to funding.” Education Austin President Ken Zarifis said.

Zarifis says Austin ISD’s $119 million budget deficit is emblematic of a larger, statewide problem. Even if voters approve a tax rate increase in November, the district will still be in a dire situation.

“That’s all we can do locally before we start cutting services and possibly people,” Zarifis said. “So the state needs to step in.”

That’s why he’s such a fan of the Educators Bill of Rights released in San Antonio and Dallas Tuesday by The Texas American Federation of Teachers. It’s a list of priorities they plan to bring to the upcoming legislative session which starts in January. Zarafis’ union is part of the AFT.

“The Bill of Rights is asking for a respectful workplace, a place where we feel safe, that we feel honored,” Zarifis said. “How do we support our kids?”

The AFT lists ten rights: the right to reasonable working conditions, fair wages, a secure retirement, quality childcare, a healthy safe, and secure working environment, academic freedom, meaningful training and development, organizing, democratic representation, and freedom of religion.

ALSO| Central Texas school districts approve pay raises despite budget concerns

“This is legislation that focuses on overwhelming popular priorities: fully funding our public schools, supporting our kids with the resources they need, and keeping our educators where they belong: in our public schools.” A representative with A.F.T. said.

Of chief concern, is that Texas teachers make $9,000 less than the national average, and the AFT says 70 percent of its 66,000 members have considered leaving the industry.

“This gap not only undervalues our profession but also directly impacts our ability to attract and retain the best educators for our students.” Northside A.F.T. Teacher Ledda Arcelus said.

Many teachers also worry about gun violence and are working in classrooms without air conditioning, or in schools where religious freedoms aren’t respected. There’s also the issue of retirement pensions and childcare for working professionals, which present other problems.

“No public school student should have to endure cuts that compromise their education, and no educator should have to choose between filling a prescription or putting gas in their car just to do the job that they love,” Arcelus said.

Zarifis believes if these rights can be achieved, not only will it keep much-needed professionals in the classroom, but will bring students the quality education they deserve.

“What happens at the state impacts every student in this state, and this bill of rights addresses the needs that we know as professionals on our campuses and in public schools, what our kids need,” Zarifis said.

The 89th Legislative Session begins January 14.

To see a full list of the Educator Bill of Rights, click here.

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Related Topics:AFT classroom safety Educator Bill of Rights Featured funding legislative session public education teacher pay texas

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Austin, TX

Texas Primary: Breakdown of Texas races

Published

10 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Democrats tried to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort, but were unsuccessful. Now, we are starting to see some of the candidates emerging in those newly drawn districts. FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski gives a full breakdown.

Posted March 3, 2026 10:32pm CST

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Austin, TX

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

Published

22 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning, killed three people and injured more than a dozen others, according to the Austin Police Department. APD confirmed one of the victims was 30-year-old Jorge Pederson, a Minnesota man who worked as an MMA fighter for the Med City Fighting Championships.

“You meet tons of fighters and there are people that stand above the rest that you find you enjoy or find the most amusing,” MCFC Co-Owner Matthew Vogt said. “He was definitely one of them.”

According to Vogt, Pederson was also the owner of a Minnesota business called Metro Movers. Vogt said the MMA competitor touched everyone’s hearts since his first day of fighting professionally in Rochester.

“As soon as we met him when it was the weighing time, we just loved the guy already because he had a great mission or spirit about him,” Vogt said. “He was a funny guy and great fighter.”

Vogt told KTTC when he first saw the news that Pederson was killed, he could not believe what he saw.

“I was looking, like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this one of his shenanigans or did something actually happen there?’” Vogt said, recalling the moment he saw a social media post regarding the shooting in Austin. “I confirmed with a few people and I’m just like, sometimes, some things happen that you don’t even like, you don’t even know how to respond to it because it’s just so out of left field that you don’t immediately have a response to it.”

MCFC confirmed there is an online fundraiser dedicated to supporting Pederson’s family. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $10,000 has been raised.

“He was someone that always could make anybody laugh,” Vogt said. “Support his family through the fundraiser and take a look at his Instagram especially to see how funny he was.”

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Austin, TX

Here are the major statewide and Austin-area races on the ballot Tuesday

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Here are the major statewide and Austin-area races on the ballot Tuesday

A voter heads into the Ben Hur Shrine polling place in Austin as early voting begins for the March primary elections in Texas, Feb. 17, 2026. Voters can cast their ballots to decide who represents Republicans and Democrats in the November midterm elections.

Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

A rare mix of competitive races up and down the ballot has voters turning up to the polls in droves ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, which will set match-ups in the high-stakes midterms in November.

Voters will decide if U.S. Sen. John Cornyn gets to keep the seat he’s held for more than two decades and which candidates will likely take a slew of redrawn congressional seats meant to give Republicans an edge. The races could decide control of Congress.