Voters will be in an uproar if that happens. Yet, legislators know that teachers are also a huge voting bloc and they will not easily forget a broken promise. The Teacher Retirement System of Texas was directed to follow up on implementation. Almost half of all Texas school districts 474 did not offer a comparable insurance plan. In the other districts, less than half of employees were enrolled in the comparable plan.
Coverage is free for the state employee.
Most of it went to pay for increases in health care coverage. Insurance companies raised rates in 718 of 973 school districts this year. If you have a family, the statistics are even worse. Ninety-five percent of all school employees bear the entire cost of family coverage, and 746 districts raised family premiums this year. The Texas State Teachers Association is asking the Legislature to insure all school employees teachers, support personnel, and administrators in a state plan with the same options and benefits now provided state employees.