Nov. 1, 2024: We vote for the well-being of our children

If you'rereading this, you know that Election Day is Tuesday. Hopefully, you have made your plan to vote and know the location of your polling place, the voting hours, and who you will vote for in races up and down the ballot. (If not, please visit vote.texasaft.org.)

But if you don'tthink your vote counts, or if you don'tthink there'sa difference between the candidates for the presidency, we want to share with you the important stakes of this election for our public schools and communities, as laid out by our friends at the Network for Public Education:

"Wemust speak again, urging all, whether progressive, moderate, or conservative in political beliefs, to support the Harris/Walz ticket. The very well-being of our children is at stake.

We have all heard the vitriol directed at immigrants at rallies and even the presidential debate. Regardless of varying positions on immigration policy, [Trump's]campaign of hatred and contempt will accelerate and inevitably permeate our schools, which millions of children who come from immigrant households attend. The rhetoric of hate not only affects how children view themselves and their classmates, but it sends the message that hate speech is allowed.

We also know that Trump's false claims that children are receiving gender transition surgery at school and that public school teachers are 'grooming'students are part of a broader anti-public schoolcampaign. But the consequences go beyond the politics of school choice. For some parents, these lies evoke anger and fear. They undermine parents' trust in teachers and schools. They send a message to children that adults can repeatedly lie without personal consequence and that the liar can even be rewarded with the presidency."

• How does early voting turnout in Texas stack up to previouselections? We'lltell you.
• Last weekend, our members across the state hosted March to the Polls events to turn out the educator vote.
• In a rare show of bipartisanship, outgoing Republican Rep. Steve Allison has endorsed Laurel Swift, a Democrat, in a critical anti-voucher legislative race.
• A new survey shows more students are ruling out Texas colleges and universities because of the state's political climate.

With Texas' paper-based voter registration system, applications get lost in the shuffle. A Votebeatinvestigation found that, across the state, eligible Texas voters who believe they have done everything necessary to cast a ballot don'tget the chance because their registrations didn'tmake it into the system. There is no simple wayto know how many people are disenfranchised because of this, but more than a dozen local election officials and volunteer deputy registrars shared examples. (Votebeat, Oct. 28)

Why I'mvoting against the HISD bond. A Houston ISD parent writes, While I have always voted for school bonds, and always complained loudly about the posh facilities pro sports teams use while teachers sweat in packed classrooms, I'mvoting "no" this November. I'mvoting no because bonds require community trust. Under Superintendent Mike Miles, that trust has been broken. (Houston Chronicle, Oct. 25)

How the Culture Wars Are Costing Schools Billions. School districts have increasingly found themselves at the center of tense conflict in recent years. And those conflicts come at a cost. These clashes-over issues like how districts are addressing race and policies related to LGBTQ+ students' rights-cost American schools more than $3 billionin the 2023-24 academic year, according to a new analysis. (Education Week, Oct. 23)