AUSTIN, Texas — On Tuesday, fifth-grade science teacher Stacey Ward, state president of the 90,000-member Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE), will join hundreds of her educator colleagues at the State Capitol to oppose vouchers and advocate for public education funding increases, school safety, better teacher compensation, improved educator recruitment and retention measures, and a cost-of-living adjustment for retired educators.

These educators are gathering for ATPE at the Capitol, the association’s biennial political involvement training and lobby day event.

“Legislators need to hear from educators on the front lines now,” Ward says. “My colleagues and I aren’t interested in politics. We want to share our experiences—drawn from our classrooms and our real-life partnerships with parents—about what works and what doesn’t work for the children of Texas.”

The Tuesday Capitol visits will follow a member-only evening of training and a legislator panel. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, ATPE members wearing the association’s signature red will visit lawmaker offices.

At 2:30 p.m., ATPE at the Capitol attendees will gather on the steps outside the Senate chamber for a group photo. The media is invited to join us for B-roll at that time and to request photo ops and interviews throughout the day Tuesday.

For assistance & to arrange interviews, contact Kate Johanns at 512-766-4428 or kjohanns@atpe.org.
Learn more about ATPE’s legislative priorities at atpe.org/txlege.

About the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE)
Founded in 1980, ATPE is the leading educators’ association in Texas with approximately 90,000 members statewide. With its strong collaborative philosophy, ATPE speaks for classroom teachers, administrators, and future, retired, and para-educators and works to create better opportunities for Texas’ more than five million public school students. | atpe.org