AFT Higher Education
@afthighered.bsky.social
400,000 workers in higher education defending democracy and protecting a pathway to opportunity for all.
Pinned
WATCH & SHARE: College & university faculty teach classes that transform students’ lives and run labs that result in lifesaving medical research. They create opportunity and strengthen communities. We must defend higher education, not defund it.
Learn more: aft.org/higeredbenefitseveryone
Learn more: aft.org/higeredbenefitseveryone
Attacks on Higher Ed are Attacks on ALL of Us.
YouTube video by AFT
www.youtube.com
🎉HIGHER EDUCATION: Saving Lives. Building Futures. Powering the Economy.
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
Texas A&M ends its women's & gender studies program while hundreds of syllabi remain flagged and censored under top-down review policies.
“I have never seen anything like this.”
— Dr. Leonard Bright, @tamu-aaup.bsky.social President
@texasaft.org
@texasaaup.bsky.social
@cwa-tseu.bsky.social
“I have never seen anything like this.”
— Dr. Leonard Bright, @tamu-aaup.bsky.social President
@texasaft.org
@texasaaup.bsky.social
@cwa-tseu.bsky.social
Texas A&M Ends Women’s Studies and Overhauls Classes Over Race and Gender
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Texas A&M ends its women's & gender studies program while hundreds of syllabi remain flagged and censored under top-down review policies.
“I have never seen anything like this.”
— Dr. Leonard Bright, @tamu-aaup.bsky.social President
@texasaft.org
@texasaaup.bsky.social
@cwa-tseu.bsky.social
“I have never seen anything like this.”
— Dr. Leonard Bright, @tamu-aaup.bsky.social President
@texasaft.org
@texasaaup.bsky.social
@cwa-tseu.bsky.social
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
The bipartisan Senate deal to separate the DHS appropriations bill from other spending bills is necessary step to fund essential services Americans need, avert another government shutdown and give lawmakers time to negotiate measures to restrict, restrain and reform ICE www.aft.org/press-releas...
AFT’s Weingarten Responds to Senate Deal to Separate ICE Funding, Avert Shutdown
WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following response to the Senate’s bipartisan deal to avert a government shutdown and give lawmakers time to negotiate reforms to an unchecked U.S....
www.aft.org
January 30, 2026 at 4:31 AM
The bipartisan Senate deal to separate the DHS appropriations bill from other spending bills is necessary step to fund essential services Americans need, avert another government shutdown and give lawmakers time to negotiate measures to restrict, restrain and reform ICE www.aft.org/press-releas...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
The bosses have discovered solidarity? “There’s this thought that if you stand up, you’re sort of a fish in a barrel. But if you do it together, that’s safer,” There IS that thought indeed! hechingerreport.org/value-polici...
Higher education starts to fight back against attacks on its value and policies
The higher education industry has launched several new marketing campaigns in the hope of reclaiming the message about itself in the face of political attacks and public skepticism.
hechingerreport.org
January 30, 2026 at 6:41 PM
The bosses have discovered solidarity? “There’s this thought that if you stand up, you’re sort of a fish in a barrel. But if you do it together, that’s safer,” There IS that thought indeed! hechingerreport.org/value-polici...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
Thank you @smith.senate.gov. We need Republicans to find their courage and take real steps to protect American values and our Constitution. I think we can all agree that ICE has not made Minnesota safer. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/o...
Opinion | Senator Tina Smith: I Won’t Vote to Fund ICE Until It Gets Out of My State
www.nytimes.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Thank you @smith.senate.gov. We need Republicans to find their courage and take real steps to protect American values and our Constitution. I think we can all agree that ICE has not made Minnesota safer. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/o...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
@oregonnursesassoc.bsky.social & @ofnhp.bsky.social members gathered this week to honor Alex Pretti and call for accountability. Nurses are facing intensified fears about federal enforcement in the workplace underscoring their duty to patients' safety, rights and dignity.
www.aft.org/news/nurses-...
www.aft.org/news/nurses-...
Nurses hold vigil for Alex Pretti, call for accountability
Nurses gathered in Portland on Jan. 27 to honor Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old registered nurse who was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24. The vigil, organized by the Oregon...
www.aft.org
January 29, 2026 at 6:16 PM
@oregonnursesassoc.bsky.social & @ofnhp.bsky.social members gathered this week to honor Alex Pretti and call for accountability. Nurses are facing intensified fears about federal enforcement in the workplace underscoring their duty to patients' safety, rights and dignity.
www.aft.org/news/nurses-...
www.aft.org/news/nurses-...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
🧵
If you aren't already connected to a local network, "when ICE comes to MY city" will be too late to get started. Start now. Look for trainings now. Look for solidarity opportunities now. Connect with your local chapter of Indivisible, immigrant solidarity groups, some unions - start now.
If you aren't already connected to a local network, "when ICE comes to MY city" will be too late to get started. Start now. Look for trainings now. Look for solidarity opportunities now. Connect with your local chapter of Indivisible, immigrant solidarity groups, some unions - start now.
I keep seeing posts going "when ICE comes to MY city, we'll be out in the streets even harder" and man, I get that sentiment but I need everyone to understand that the work in Minneapolis is partly confrontational but MORE IMPORTANTLY aaallll the stuff organized in the background to help neighbors
January 29, 2026 at 7:27 PM
🧵
If you aren't already connected to a local network, "when ICE comes to MY city" will be too late to get started. Start now. Look for trainings now. Look for solidarity opportunities now. Connect with your local chapter of Indivisible, immigrant solidarity groups, some unions - start now.
If you aren't already connected to a local network, "when ICE comes to MY city" will be too late to get started. Start now. Look for trainings now. Look for solidarity opportunities now. Connect with your local chapter of Indivisible, immigrant solidarity groups, some unions - start now.
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
The Heritage Foundation wrote Project 2025, which helped motivate many federal policy changes in the last year. Here is their follow-up document, which will definitely get traction at the Department of Education and in red states.
Themes for Higher Education Reform
Higher education in America is in a state of crisis.
www.heritage.org
January 28, 2026 at 9:50 PM
The Heritage Foundation wrote Project 2025, which helped motivate many federal policy changes in the last year. Here is their follow-up document, which will definitely get traction at the Department of Education and in red states.
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
Join @aft.org tomorrow at 6 pm for a webinar to examine the current state of immigration enforcement, the implications of these policy shifts, and what they mean in practice for educators, healthcare workers, students and families.
Register here: event.on24.com/wcc/r/520923...
Register here: event.on24.com/wcc/r/520923...
January 27, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Join @aft.org tomorrow at 6 pm for a webinar to examine the current state of immigration enforcement, the implications of these policy shifts, and what they mean in practice for educators, healthcare workers, students and families.
Register here: event.on24.com/wcc/r/520923...
Register here: event.on24.com/wcc/r/520923...
Join us tomorrow! Featuring higher ed members but all are welcome
Join me for a webinar on Jan. 28 with legal and policy experts and those on the frontlines facing immigration enforcement actions. We'll discuss why schools, hospitals and communities must remain places of care, not fear, and how you can take action. Register ⤵️ sharemylesson.com/webinars/imm...
January 27, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Join us tomorrow! Featuring higher ed members but all are welcome
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
"These court victories tell us that … we have a right to say that Charlie Kirk said some disgusting things, and just because we’re faculty members doesn’t mean we don’t have the right to say those things.”
– Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
– Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
Faculty firings over Kirk commentary are unraveling
The fierce First Amendment clash between faculty and their colleges sparked by the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is starting to tip in the educators’ favor.
www.politico.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:16 PM
"These court victories tell us that … we have a right to say that Charlie Kirk said some disgusting things, and just because we’re faculty members doesn’t mean we don’t have the right to say those things.”
– Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
– Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
Academic freedom is the freedom to discuss current events in the classroom, to research topics that may be poorly understood or controversial, & the freedom from censorship (even when critiquing the workplace) Like all freedoms, academic freedom calls for ethical use.
ncnewsline.com/2026/01/26/w...
ncnewsline.com/2026/01/26/w...
Why Parents and Students Should Care About Academic Freedom • NC Newsline
More than anything that draws students to our campuses — more than winning sports teams and fancy dining halls, state-of-the-art labs and well-stocked libraries — academic freedom is what makes our un...
ncnewsline.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Academic freedom is the freedom to discuss current events in the classroom, to research topics that may be poorly understood or controversial, & the freedom from censorship (even when critiquing the workplace) Like all freedoms, academic freedom calls for ethical use.
ncnewsline.com/2026/01/26/w...
ncnewsline.com/2026/01/26/w...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
In September, @AFT.org and @AAUP.org members went to the Hill to lobby for full funding for life saving research and programs that create opportunities for students. Glad to see Congress agrees that #HigherEdBenefitsEveryone. @AFTHigherEd.bsky.social www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Congress Proposes Increasing NIH Budget, Maintaining ED
Appropriators have released legislation that wouldn’t defund Education Department programs or slash the National Institutes of Health budget. And it would prohibit the federal government from capping ...
www.insidehighered.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:06 AM
In September, @AFT.org and @AAUP.org members went to the Hill to lobby for full funding for life saving research and programs that create opportunities for students. Glad to see Congress agrees that #HigherEdBenefitsEveryone. @AFTHigherEd.bsky.social www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
This is important. We must fight–right now–to strengthen our democracy against this administration’s attacks because we can no longer count on our freedoms to be available tomorrow.. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
Opinion | One Year of Trump. The Time to Act Is Now, While We Still Can.
www.nytimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:22 AM
This is important. We must fight–right now–to strengthen our democracy against this administration’s attacks because we can no longer count on our freedoms to be available tomorrow.. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
We need to listen to the doctors on this. RFK Jr.'s changes to vaccination schedules are fundamentally changing a system that doctors know prevents disease, disability, and death. This will have huge ripple effects on our kids and communities. www.statnews.com/2026/01/15/n...
Hospitals and doctors are ignoring RFK Jr.’s new vaccine schedule and relying on pediatricians’ guidance instead
Their decisions underscore a growing divide between federal health authorities and major medical groups.
www.statnews.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:22 AM
We need to listen to the doctors on this. RFK Jr.'s changes to vaccination schedules are fundamentally changing a system that doctors know prevents disease, disability, and death. This will have huge ripple effects on our kids and communities. www.statnews.com/2026/01/15/n...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
The very serious goal is to segregate the sector. It's challenging to me that people who pushed for these kinds of things didn't see that this is where the administration was going. Guess I should've held a special session at ASSA.
2/2 Because merit - as assessed in US ed - is racialized any institution that that enrolls student students from more than one racial or ethnic group will likely show differences in scores by race (and gender). The only near-term way to eliminate the gaps would be to segregate the sector.
January 19, 2026 at 3:23 PM
The very serious goal is to segregate the sector. It's challenging to me that people who pushed for these kinds of things didn't see that this is where the administration was going. Guess I should've held a special session at ASSA.
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
Keep ICE out of our hospitals
Keep ICE out of places of worship.
Keep ICE out of our schools and campuses.
Our communities rely on safe spaces. Americans should not be scared of America. That’s what ICE is doing.
Take action at go.aft.org/keepiceout
www.youtube.com/shorts/pLF9D...
Keep ICE out of places of worship.
Keep ICE out of our schools and campuses.
Our communities rely on safe spaces. Americans should not be scared of America. That’s what ICE is doing.
Take action at go.aft.org/keepiceout
www.youtube.com/shorts/pLF9D...
Tell Congress: Keep ICE Out of Schools
This week, we witnessed unconscionable acts of violence by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minnesota—including the murder of Renee Nicole Good, the handcuffing of school staff, th...
go.aft.org
January 18, 2026 at 3:33 AM
Keep ICE out of our hospitals
Keep ICE out of places of worship.
Keep ICE out of our schools and campuses.
Our communities rely on safe spaces. Americans should not be scared of America. That’s what ICE is doing.
Take action at go.aft.org/keepiceout
www.youtube.com/shorts/pLF9D...
Keep ICE out of places of worship.
Keep ICE out of our schools and campuses.
Our communities rely on safe spaces. Americans should not be scared of America. That’s what ICE is doing.
Take action at go.aft.org/keepiceout
www.youtube.com/shorts/pLF9D...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
It's nice when folks are bad at their jobs sometimes
NEW: Wage garnishment for student debt is now paused.
A reporter asks Secretary of Education Linda McMahon if she has any concerns about garnishing student loan borrowers' wages.
Sec McMahon: "Well actually there is a pause on that at the moment."
A reporter asks Secretary of Education Linda McMahon if she has any concerns about garnishing student loan borrowers' wages.
Sec McMahon: "Well actually there is a pause on that at the moment."
January 16, 2026 at 6:14 PM
It's nice when folks are bad at their jobs sometimes
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
The scale and speed of state censorship of campus really is amazing.
More than half of America's college students attend institutions in states that have passed laws censoring higher education since 2021.
From @penamerica.bsky.social
pen.org/report/ameri...
More than half of America's college students attend institutions in states that have passed laws censoring higher education since 2021.
From @penamerica.bsky.social
pen.org/report/ameri...
January 15, 2026 at 8:31 PM
The scale and speed of state censorship of campus really is amazing.
More than half of America's college students attend institutions in states that have passed laws censoring higher education since 2021.
From @penamerica.bsky.social
pen.org/report/ameri...
More than half of America's college students attend institutions in states that have passed laws censoring higher education since 2021.
From @penamerica.bsky.social
pen.org/report/ameri...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
A federal judge says the administration has adopted "a fearful approach to freedom" in a new order to protect non-citizen academics, including those affiliated with @aaup.org, from retribution for a lawsuit defending the First Amendment rights of campus activists.
www.reuters.com/world/us-jud...
www.reuters.com/world/us-jud...
US judge to shield scholars who challenged deporting of pro-Palestinian campus activists
Describing President Donald Trump as an "authoritarian," a federal judge said on Thursday he will issue an order aimed at protecting academics who challenged the arrest and deportation of non-citizen,...
www.reuters.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:15 PM
A federal judge says the administration has adopted "a fearful approach to freedom" in a new order to protect non-citizen academics, including those affiliated with @aaup.org, from retribution for a lawsuit defending the First Amendment rights of campus activists.
www.reuters.com/world/us-jud...
www.reuters.com/world/us-jud...
Your periodic reminder the college student are adults CHOOSING their courses in NONCOMPULSORY education. Yet a record number of state legislatures have decided they know best. Give adults the freedom to learn. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Report: State Lawmakers Enacted 21 Censorship Bills in 2025
The legislatures in all 15 states that passed higher education censorship bills are Republican-controlled. Measures range from curricular control to curtailing faculty governance.
www.insidehighered.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Your periodic reminder the college student are adults CHOOSING their courses in NONCOMPULSORY education. Yet a record number of state legislatures have decided they know best. Give adults the freedom to learn. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Is this what they have workshops on at the boss conference? How to Minimize Accountability on Zoom? 🙄
Hey, @uconn.bsky.social, can we discuss the minimum requirements for you to call something a "Town Hall"? This doesn't cut it:
"participants will not be able to ask questions verbally or receive live responses during the session....[but] are welcome to submit questions via the chat feature"
"participants will not be able to ask questions verbally or receive live responses during the session....[but] are welcome to submit questions via the chat feature"
January 16, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Is this what they have workshops on at the boss conference? How to Minimize Accountability on Zoom? 🙄
Victory at Portland State - 10 non-tenure track faculty members reinstated. Our locals fought hard to make these job security contract provisions reality, taking the fight to arbitration and organizing hundreds. 💪 www.opb.org/article/2026...
January 15, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Victory at Portland State - 10 non-tenure track faculty members reinstated. Our locals fought hard to make these job security contract provisions reality, taking the fight to arbitration and organizing hundreds. 💪 www.opb.org/article/2026...
Reposted by AFT Higher Education
Texas A&M decided to publicly cancel my Ethics class, and share a false statement that I declined to provide information, which made it impossible for [them ] to request an exemption. See for yourself, if this statement is true.
They are getting creative!
They are getting creative!
ETHICS IS NOW CANCELED AT TEXAS A&M
Statement from Dr. Leonard Bright....
Statement from Dr. Leonard Bright....
January 14, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Texas A&M decided to publicly cancel my Ethics class, and share a false statement that I declined to provide information, which made it impossible for [them ] to request an exemption. See for yourself, if this statement is true.
They are getting creative!
They are getting creative!
Not the thing you want to read, but the thing you need to read: www.wired.com/story/what-t...
What to Do if ICE Invades Your Neighborhood
With federal agents storming the streets of American communities, there’s no single right way to approach this dangerous moment. But there are steps you can take to stay safe—and have an impact.
www.wired.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Not the thing you want to read, but the thing you need to read: www.wired.com/story/what-t...