The ATPE Governmental Relations team recaps the past week’s education news, legislative and election updates, and regulatory developments.

• Register for our Jan. 24 webinar: Primary Elections—The REAL March Madness
• Learn how Abbott is using the “Iowa model” to push for vouchers, and read Rep. Glenn Rogers’ op-ed debunking pro-voucher arguments
• National media outlets cover Teacher Incentive Allotment program
• Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day

PRIMARY ELECTION: The voter registration deadline for the March 5 Texas primaries is Feb. 5. The ATPE Governmental Relations team is presenting a live webinar and Q&A Jan. 24 as part of the Gen ATPE program on the unique Texas primary system and why the March primary, not the November general election, is the most important election on the 2024 Texas elections calendar. Gen ATPE offers special learning and networking opportunities for educators ages 30 and younger, but any Texas educator is welcome to attend “Primary Elections—The REAL March Madness.” One hour of continuing professional education (CPE) credit will be available for live webinar participants. Learn more and register.

VOUCHERS IN THE NEWS: With private school vouchers a key issue in Republican primary races, multiple media outlets are covering various aspects of the issue. In the Houston Chronicle, political reporter Jeremy Wallace takes a look at the recent aggressive push by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to pass a private school voucher in Texas—and Abbott’s use of electioneering similar to that of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who successfully remade her state’s Legislature to get a private school voucher passed. Over in the Palo Pinto Press, Rep. Glenn Rogers (R–Weatherford)—one of the pro-public education House Republicans incumbents targeted by Abbott—published an op-ed debunking the arguments of voucher proponents. These are both good reads and good shares as you talk to fellow voters about the March 5 primary election.

TIA IN THE NEWS: Two news stories published this week by national media outlets—The Wall Street Journal and NewsNation—featured Region 13 ATPE Director Stephanie Stoebe, a fourth grade teacher in Round ISD, sharing her experience with the Texas Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program. Although TIA has been touted as a way for teachers to make salaries of at least $100,000, the WSJ reports less than 1% of Texas teachers have reached that level of compensation, partly because of the complexities involved in district implementation of TIA.

MLK JR. DAY The ATPE state office will be closed Monday, Jan. 15, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In the words of Dr. King: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Thank you to Texas educators for continuing to stand strong in this time of challenge and controversy.