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      ​Then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, now the state's governor, celebrates the U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows a Ten Commandments monument to stand outside the state capitol building in Austin on June 27, 2005.

      Texas GOP Accused of 'Coordinated Effort to Force State-Sponsored Religion Into Our Public Schools'

      A Republican-passed bill to allow public schools to replace professional counselors with unlicensed chaplains is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.

      Kenny Stancil
      May 25, 2023

      The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature has passed a bill to allow public schools to replace professional counselors with uncertified religious chaplains.

      GOP lawmakers in the state House approved Senate Bill 763 on Wednesday, one day after their counterparts in the state Senate passed the legislation. The measure, which permits school districts "to employ or accept as volunteers chaplains to provide support, services, and programs for students," now heads to the desk of far-right Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.

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      School teacher teaching student

      Give Them a Raise! Teachers Deserve Much More Than a Week of Appreciation

      We must do more than take a week to say thank you. We must pay teachers for the work they do to support our society. The evidence is clear that we have been failing in this regard.

      Glen Water
      May 12, 2023

      To this day, I have yet to meet a person incapable of naming a teacher who made an impact on their life. No matter if they attended an under-resourced or well-off school, nearly everyone has had a teacher who made them believe in themselves, taught them to love a subject they thought they were terrible at, or opened up their view of the world.

      Whether it was the teacher of my Pastor Bernard in Oakland who taught him to read and write through lived experiences rather than textbooks; or my fiancé’s who recognized her potential and fast-tracked her into more advanced courses; or my history teacher who helped me believe in my abilities and cultivate my love of social studies—teachers change lives. They deserve to be paid fairly for their impact on all of us.

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      Opinion
      Education
      A boy in a green shirt sits at a public school desk

      Stop the Attack on Our Nation's Public Schools

      The "one-two punch" of teaching restrictions and vouchers threatens one of U.S. democracy's greatest assets.

      Jacob Goodwin
      Apr 18, 2023

      Each morning at school, we hear the daily announcements over the intercom, followed by the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s a familiar scene. The routine concludes with the collective and audible, "with liberty and justice for all," a civic promise that we strive to fulfill each day in public schools.

      In the wake of the U.S. Capitol Insurrection on January 6, 2021, educators face mounting challenges to maintaining civic space, including a cadre of extremist legislators and, in New Hampshire at least, commissioners of education determined to advance their agendas of cynicism and fear.

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