Texas leads the nation in attempts to ban books, sparking a heated debate over educational freedom and censorship.

The Texas State Teachers Association survey revealed that 70% of teachers are on the verge of quitting as educators’ morale sinks.

Teacher retirement and attrition rates remain high while morale among educators remains low.

Summer is coming to an end as students and teachers prep for the 2021-2022 school year. It will be the first time for many students who will see the inside of a classroom since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Texas State Teachers Association has called on Gov. Greg Abbott to withdraw the prohibition of masks and to allow school districts to require masks when students return back to school.

Resigning was an extreme response, but Dawer is not alone among Texas teachers in mistrusting how school districts are managing health and safety this fall. Texas teachers cannot go on strike. The local teachers association is now in daily talks with the administration on how educators can return safely. Administrators argue that they need teachers in classrooms to instruct and supervise an ever-changing number of students learning in person. Disclosure: The Texas State Teachers Association, Texas Association of School Administrators, Texas Association of School Boards and Texas AFT have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.

At present, Harris County is at the highest threat level: Red level 1. City of Houston launches new initiative to combat human trafficking, domestic violenceHouston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a new initiative that will target human trafficking and domestic violence in Houston Monday afternoon. Turner said he is expanding the mayor’s office of human trafficking to include domestic violence. He said the office’s new name will be Mayor’s Office of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence, which will be led by Minal Davis. The mayor’s decision to add domestic violence to the office is due to both being forms of gender-based violence.

HOUSTON – The Texas State Teachers Association announced Monday that its members had reported hundreds of COVID-19 protocol discrepancies or violations in the first couple weeks of the school year. In the Houston area, the most complaints of violations were submitted by teachers in the Cy-Fair Independent School District with 210 reports of violations since the school district began the academic year last week. We hope we haven’t prolonged the day when we can think about being normal again.”See the Houston-area districts where the most teachers reported COVID-19 violations during the first couple weeks of the school year. Across the state, TSTA claims it has received hundreds of reports of COVID-19 protocol violations from members in 135 school districts. What the school districts are sayingKPRC 2 reached out to the Houston-area school districts with a high number of reported violations.

HOUSTON – Texas State Teachers Association has one clear message to Gov. Greg Abbott: keep all schools closed for the remainder of the school year. The association started a petition, noting school closures would keep students, educators, and communities safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. The association also recommended the government keep school districts funded to avoid layoffs and assist in paying hourly workers, such as education support professionals. Do the right thing to keep kids, educators, and communities safe,” Texas State Teachers Association wrote in the petition.