Raise Your Hand Texas

Happy Labor Day from Raise Your Hand Texas! After a great start to this school year, we wish educators, students, and families a happy day of rest and relaxation.

Full-day pre-K funding is not just an educational issue but an investment in the strength of our economy. Today's decisions are tomorrow's outcomes. Learn more about how we can help our youngest Texans and
👉 go.ryht.org/CenTXpreK

Advocate for full-day pre-K funding this upcoming legislative session and help our young Texans thrive. Let our actions today reflect the strength of the Texas economy tomorrow! Read more 👉 go.ryht.org/DFWpreK

State Representative James Talarico said it best: "Full funding for a full day."

Support our youngest Texans and get behind the movement for full-day pre-K funding in this next legislative session!📚💡 Learn more here 👉 go.ryht.org/CenTXpreK

Investing in our youngest learners is crucial 🌟 Visit go.ryht.org/invest-in-pre-k to learn about the benefits of pre-k, the funding gap in Texas, and more! 📚

Every child deserves a head start in life. In this upcoming legislative session, we can close the gap in our Pre-K funding, which only funds half the day instead of a full day.
Read the full story at go.ryht.org/DFWpreK

What a week! A big shout out to all who participated in the Trustee Advocates Summit and our incredible sponsors, Huckabee, VLK Architects, Inc., CORE, and BOK Financial.
The passion for solving problems in Texas communities and connecting with others was truly inspiring. Together, we shape the future of public education in Texas.

We are kicking off Day 3 of our with our media panel, connecting reporters and public education advocates in a productive discussion.

It's a beautiful (if a little warm) day to learn how to improve Texas public education!

We are excited to welcome superintendents, school board trustees, and public education advocates from all over Texas to the Trustee Advocates Summit at the Holdsworth Center on Lake Austin! 🧡🏫

📢 Money intended for Texas public schools should stay in Texas public schools 📢 So why doesn’t it? https://bit.ly/TXschoolfunding

Where does Texas school funding come from? Where does Texas school funding come from? School finance is a complicated subject. This video explains the sources of Texas school funding and the legislatu...

Our Texas public schools do amazing things with limited resources. Imagine what they could do if they were fully funded.
Raise Your Hand Texas Advocate - Dallas/Fort Worth explains in this op-ed: https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/other-voices/article291059230.html

Want Texas to build the next great workforce? State needs to boost school funding | Opinion The state is far below the national average in per-pupil spending. | Opinion

🍎 Teachers earn CPE credits at 50+ TribFest sessions!

Connect the classroom with current events at The Texas Tribune Festival, Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin!

Join us at Texas’ breakout politics and policy event to hear from more than 300 state and national leaders as they discuss what’s next for Texas and the nation.

Teachers attend TribFest for just $75 – That's $275 off general admission tickets!

Get tickets: https://trib.it/DL3QL0

Through a partnership with the ATPE - Association of Texas Professional Educators, teachers earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit at more than 50 TribFest sessions! Credits will be tracked using session codes and the online ATPE Professional Learning Portal.

Here are just a few of the 50 eligible sessions:

✅ A Report Card – Two former U.S. education secretaries and a philanthropic stalwart on whether K-12 and higher ed are making the grade.
✅ What Superintendents Think – Urban, suburban and rural school district leaders on the state of public education in Texas.
✅ Public Ed and the 89th Legislature – The fight over “school choice” continues — and also over per-student funding, teacher pay and much more.
✅ Unsuppressed – Stacey Abrams, Voting Rights Activist, on voting rights, threats to democracy and the will of the people.

To explore all 50+ sessions that earn teachers credit:

• View the TribFest schedule: https://trib.it/OdXga6
• Click the yellow “Filters” button on the top left
• Click “Topics & Tags”
• Choose “CPE Credit - Educators”

We look forward to hosting educators at TribFest!

Thank you to our presenting sponsor of educators at , Raise Your Hand Texas

It's time for an evolution in education. With $21.2 billion in extra state revenue, the 89th legislative session is set to change the lives of 5.5 million Texas public students. Read the full story at: go.ryht.org/TXSchoolQA

Cast your votes for both of our two sessions at !
📚 Visit the links below, sign up, and place your votes today.

1️⃣ $mart Moves: Investing in Teacher Pay and Retention: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/147517A
2️⃣ Path Forward: Strengthening Pre-K Across the Nation: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/154234

Tag an educator or advocate who'd love these panels and let's bring these conversations to the forefront. Remember, your votes and comments make a difference!

Let's champion for public education together. More details in our blog here: https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/2024-sxsw-edu-panel-picker-vote/

Panel Picker for SXSW EDU 2025 Learn more about our education panels and vote for our PanelPicker Idea and become a public education advocate

It's time to ask, "Who Represents Me?" Discover your Regional Advocacy Director, connect with your local representatives, and engage with your school district by simply entering your address here: www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/resource/who-represents/

Who Represents Me? Find your Regional Advocacy Director, local representatives, and school district. Enter your address to get started.

While providing full-day pre-K is the law, Texas schools only receive funding for half the day. Pre-K has been shown to increase a child's success for the rest of their life. Every child deserves a strong start.
Read the full story at go.ryht.org/HTXpreK

Back to school should be centered around excitement and education, not financial stress surrounding school supplies. Texas, let's fully fund our schools and support our educators! 🍎📚

Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives provides information on legislation, committees, sessions, and the Texas House

We have TWO incredible sessions that we need your vote on!
Click the links, make an account, and vote:

A Path Forward: Strengthening Pre-K Across the Nation http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/154234

$mart Moves: Investing in Teacher Pay and Retention http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/147517

Tag a friend who cares about public education and ask them to vote and leave a comment!

Get ready, Texas! It's tax-free weekend starting today until Sunday, August 11th.
Back-to-school essentials are now easier on the pocket.

Check out the official list of school supplies that qualify for tax exemption: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/98-490/school-supplies.php

Did you know most teachers spend their own money on school supplies? Together, we can change this. Let's champion fully funded Texas public schools.

We have TWO incredible sessions that we need your vote on!
Click, make an account, and vote:
A Path Forward: Strengthening Pre-K Across the Nation http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/154234

$mart Moves: Investing in Teacher Pay and Retention http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/147517

Tag a friend who cares about public education and ask them to vote and leave a comment!

PanelPicker | SXSW Conference & Festivals PanelPicker® is the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform. Enter ideas and vote to help shape Conference programming for SXSW and SXSW EDU.

Our Schools, Our Future 💫
As Texas schools prepare for the 2024-25 school year, many school districts are struggling with budget deficits and cuts. It’s up to all of us—parents, educators, and community members—to stand up for our students. Let’s push for the funding our schools need to thrive. 💸➡️ 🏫

🔗 Visit go.ryht.org/TX-Schools-Deficit-Budgets to read and learn more!

📢 Money intended for Texas public schools should stay in Texas public schools 📢So why doesn’t it? Check out our video to learn more: https://go.ryht.org/FundSchools

PanelPicker | SXSW Conference & Festivals PanelPicker® is the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform. Enter ideas and vote to help shape Conference programming for SXSW and SXSW EDU.

A lot goes into maintaining and running Texas public schools and Texas’ 1250+ ISDs have a number of demands to meet with the money allotted to them by the Texas Legislature.

To understand how school districts spend the funding they receive, we can simplify all that money down to a single dollar– the education dollar. Click the link in our bio to watch our latest video to learn more, or go to bit.ly/theschooldollar