Texas lawmakers will have an unprecedented

$27 billion budget surplus when they return to Austin in January, bolstering the prospects for TCTA’s work to increase teacher pay, reduce health insurance costs and fully fund public education.

“Our public school teachers have given so much of themselves to help children grow and learn during an extraordinarily difficult time,” TCTA Executive Director Ann Fickel said. “If Texas leaders want to keep these dedicated educators in the classroom, teacher needs must be front and center in this session’s budget discussions.” Click here to read more.

Tuesdays with TCTA returns at 6 p.m. Aug. 9. Staff attorneys will discuss TEA’s upcoming changes to the K-3 Reading Academies, reserving time to answer members’ questions about this and other back-to-school topics. Click here to register for this free 30-minute, members-only webinar and submit your questions.

SAVE THE DATES! We are also planning Tuesdays with TCTA webinars at

6 p.m. Aug. 23 and Sept. 6 to answer members' questions about back-to-school issues. Registration for these sessions will open in August. Click here for more information, including recordings of previous sessions.

During its July meeting this week, the Teacher Retirement System Board of Directors made a significant change to a key component of the “assumptions” used by actuaries to calculate the fiscal position of the TRS pension fund, lowering the assumed investment return rate to 7.0% from the previous rate of 7.25%. Lowering the rate now will put TRS in line with peer pension funds across the country. Click here to read more.

TCTA Immediate Past President Sherry Miller of Killeen was appointed to the TRS Retirees Advisory Committee as a representative of active employees. Miller will be filling the remainder of a term held by Teresa Koehler, another TCTA past president who recently retired and is no longer eligible for the seat.

The committee comprises seven active and retired educators who discuss and make recommendations on TRS-Care, the health insurance program for retired school employees.

In a recent ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court supported a high school football coach's right to pray on the 50-yard line after games.

The coach sued his school district regarding his right to pray at games after the superintendent sent the coach a directive to avoid any motivational “talks with students” that “include religious expression, including prayer” and to avoid “suggesting, encouraging (or discouraging), or supervising any prayers of students. Click here to read more.

Here’s one more item to add to your back-to-school to-do list: tighten access to your social media accounts.

An activist group with branches in Texas and other states recently held a training session for members of the public interested in learning how to review school library books, monitor curriculum and research educators’ social media.

To limit the potential for controversy over social media posts, the best protection is to restrict access to your social media accounts to actual friends and family, not the public. Do not allow students or parents to be friends and think long and hard before you friend a colleague or administrator.

In addition, make sure you’re complying with your school district’s social media policy. And do not post anything on social media during school time. If you wish to have a specific work account, post only work-related content, and do not include any comments on matters of public concern. Click here to read more.

Standardized test scores in reading and math moved closer to pre-pandemic levels, according to results released July 1 by the Texas Education Agency.

In math, 40% of all students in grades 3-8 met grade level or above on STAAR exams this year, a 5-percentage-point increase from the previous year. In reading, 52% of all students met grade level or above, representing a 9-percentage point increase from the previous year.

“This gives you a picture of what has happened statewide with regard to student proficiency and it is largely a story of recovery. It is a story of hope,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said. “It is evidence that we have extraordinary people working in public schools in Texas.”

The Texas Education Agency recently posted notice of professional development courses available in the Texas Statewide Leadership for Autism Training network focused on working with students with autism. The TSLAT network houses over 90 online courses and a video library for quick tips on a variety of topics, as well as several mentoring guides.

Kohl's is offering educators 25% off July 15-17. Any K-12 teachers, daycare/early learning educators, post-secondary educators and school staff can show a valid school ID in Kohl's stores nationwide to take advantage of the savings. Please note: The discount cannot be used with other percentage-off coupons. Exclusions apply with certain brands and categories.

Target is offering educators a one-time 15% off coupon for use between July 17 and Sept. 10. To obtain the coupon, teachers must be verified through Target Circle. Click here for instructions.