skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Florida picks up the pieces after Hurricane Milton; Georgia elected officials say Hurricane Helene was a climate change wake-up call; Hosiers are getting better civic education; the Senate could flip to the GOP in November; New Mexico postal vans go electric; and Nebraska voters debate school vouchers.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights groups push for a voter registration deadline extension in Georgia, federal workers helping in hurricane recovery face misinformation and threats of violence, and Brown University rejects student divestment demands.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Hurricane Helene has some rural North Carolina towns worried larger communities might get more attention, mixed feelings about ranked choice voting on the Oregon ballot next month, and New York farmers earn money feeding school kids.

TX educators prepare for upcoming legislative session

play audio
Play

Friday, September 6, 2024   

Texas educators spent the summer in meetings and workshops devising a playbook for the upcoming Texas legislative session.

The Educator's Bill of Rights contains 10 issues based on feedback from K-12 and higher education employees.

Alejandro Pena, government affairs specialist for the American Federation of Teachers-Texas, said they are taking their concerns directly to lawmakers.

"Playing defense is not enough because you might prevent bad things from happening," Pena observed. "But things will never get better if positive change is not realized."

The top five issues educators are concerned about include reasonable working conditions, fair wages, secure retirement, quality child care and a healthy, safe and secure working environment.

Security tops of mind following this week's mass shooting at a Georgia high school. In a survey of educators last year gun violence prevention was the top priority among 11 community and social justice issues.

Pena noted House Bill 3, which requires an armed security guard to be on every school campus in the state, is considered by many educators as an unfunded mandate.

"The legislature only provided $15,000 per campus and a measly additional 28 cents per student for school districts to comply with this requirement," Pena pointed out. "Whereas it's been found that the cost of hiring an armed security guard can be anywhere from $80,000 to $100,000."

Last year, the state of Texas had a $33 billion budget surplus but funding for public education did not increase. The next legislative session starts Jan. 14.

Disclosure: The American Federation of Teachers-Texas contributes to our fund for reporting on Education, Livable Wages/Working Families, Mental Health, and Youth Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
In Florida, the deadline to register to vote was Monday, and a Florida driver's license or Department of Motor Vehicles ID card was necessary to complete the registration. (Vilkasss/Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

As Hurricane Milton makes landfall and Florida recovers from Hurricane Helene's devastation, voting rights groups have filed a legal challenge to …


Social Issues

play sound

Ho-Chunk Farms' annual Indian Corn Harvest is reviving and preserving this tradition for the northeast Nebraska tribe. Corn from a Winnebago family's …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Clean water advocates in Maine are applauding the Environmental Protection Agency's new rule on lead pipe removals but warned drinking water in school…


When someone experiences a stroke, 1.9 billion brain cells are lost during every minute, according to Jefferson Health. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

When it comes to stroke care, experts say, "time is brain." Now, a program launching in South Dakota will coordinate and strengthen stroke care …

Environment

play sound

New York State authorized utilities to develop thermal energy network pilot programs to further its decarbonization goals. Thermal energy networks …

Emergency management officials in North Dakota say dry air with less than 20% relative humidity and dried vegetation are providing plenty of fuel for wildfires this season. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

From power outages to burnt farmland, North Dakota is coming to grips with the impact of several large wildfires that are linked to at least two …

Environment

play sound

By Bennet Goldstein for Wisconsin Watch.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Wisconsin News Connection reporting for Wisconsin Watch-Public News Service…

Social Issues

play sound

The biannual Pro-Kid Scorecard from the Children Now Action Fund was released today. In it, 12 state Assembly members and seven state Senators …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021