The Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) has offered a nonunion, Texas alternative to public education advocacy since its founding in 1980. Educators gathered around kitchen tables in the late 1970s to found an organization that served their needs and reflected their values, not those of a national teachers’ union, and the organization they founded has evolved into the state’s largest public educator association, which has served hundreds of thousands of public school employees over the past 45 years.

Our Texas Values

ATPE’s foundational philosophies are strongly collaborative and rooted in the principle of right to work. We oppose strikes and collective bargaining while supporting issues-oriented advocacy and local control of public schools grounded in elected school boards and robust community engagement.

Our Membership

ATPE members are classroom teachers and other campus educators, administrators, and paraprofessionals, as well as future and retired educators. We recognize and celebrate the vital role and voice of every public school employee in serving more than 5.5 million Texas public schoolchildren.

Our Members’ Civic Engagement

Our members represent a bipartisan and engaged voting bloc, with nearly 45% identifying as Republicans, 26% as Democrats, and the rest as independents, Libertarians and members of other parties in our most recent membership survey. Our members practice what they preach in terms of civic engagement, with recent election data indicating that ATPE members often vote at more than double the rate of average voter turnout.

Our Approach to Advocacy

The ATPE Legislative Program—the platform that guides all ATPE lobbying activities—is reviewed annually by a volunteer member committee. The educators serving on this committee propose revisions and additions for consideration by their peers serving in the ATPE House of Delegates, an assembly of hundreds of educator members from across Texas who come together at ATPE’s annual convention.

Public Education Funding and Educator Compensation

ATPE urges the Texas Legislature to meet its constitutional duty and fund public schools at levels that meet student needs and allow our public schools to comply with state and federal mandates. The Legislature should raise the basic allotment and index it to inflation to ensure students are adequately supported both now and into the future. Funding must provide meaningful increases in all aspects of teacher compensation, including salaries, healthcare, and retirement benefits.

Teacher Pipeline

Ensuring students have access to educators who are well prepared and well supported is key to student success. As such, ATPE recommends limiting exemptions from teacher certification laws. ATPE further recommends the Legislature provide grant funding for school districts to assist noncertified teachers obtain certification in a timely fashion.

Working Conditions

ATPE recommends the Legislature strengthen school disciplinary laws to empower educators to provide a safe learning environment. School districts should be positioned to establish local policies governing the responsible use of technology such as cell phones, computers, and artificial intelligence. The Legislature should strengthen the mental health supports available to both students and staff, enact measures that protect teachers’ conference and planning time, and support initiatives that promote the positive impact of public school educators on the lives of their students and the future of Texas.

Private School Entitlements

ATPE urges the Legislature to consider the substantial pitfalls of creating a taxpayer-funded entitlement for private schools, including the experiences of other states where vouchers have proven to be costly and, in some cases, budget-busting programs unpopular with voters. A Texas voucher entitlement could easily amount to over $7 billion annually. Any voucher should be considered as standalone legislation and not be tied to public school funding or teacher compensation. The Legislature should prioritize funding for traditional school districts, the state’s educational safety net, now and into the future, over supplemental educational pathways.

Hance Scarborough LLP—Washington, D.C.
Blackridge—Austin
Autry Public Affairs—Austin

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