AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced it will be expanding the Teacher Vacancy Task Force to ensure an "equal representation" of teachers and school system administrators.
The move comes after the task force’s first meeting and widespread criticism from educator groups who felt like their voices weren’t being heard, according to The Dallas Morning News.
The Teacher Vacancy Task Force was created earlier this month to better understand the significant staffing challenges facing Texas public schools and to make comprehensive recommendations to address these issues.
Originally, only two classroom teachers were part of the original 28-person group. That means the original appointments consisted of 26 administrators.
The task force is now being expanded by two dozen members, so the group includes an "equal representation" of teachers and administrators.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced it will be expanding the Teacher Vacancy Task Force to ensure an "equal representation" of teachers and school system administrators.
A teacher has also been added as chair of the task force, according to the TEA. Josue Torres of Forney, a 4th and 5th-grade math teacher from Dallas ISD, will serve as chair of the task force.
"I am honored for the opportunity to lead this Task Force focused on ensuring we have great teachers in every classroom," added Task Force Chair Torres. "The reason I got into education is because I believe that a student’s zip code shouldn’t determine his or her fate, and this Task Force has the ability to recommend the needed changes and innovative solutions necessary to ensure all Texas students have access to the high-quality educators they deserve."
Visit the Teacher Vacancy Taskforce web page for more information.
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