Brady PieperThe Texas House has passed an $8.5 billion bill that will fund public school improvements, boost teacher salaries and enhance all walks of education in Texas.
The school funding bill, House Bill 2, will inject billions into school districts statewide, expanding teacher pay, special education funding and early childhood learning. Concluding a 122-13 vote, the bill will be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is anticipated to sign the school legislation into law.
HB 2 comes after a multi-year long battle for Texas lawmakers to pass a public school funding bill. Earlier in the legislative session, Gov. Abbott signed an extensive school voucher bill that allows public tax dollars to fund private school education or school-related expenses. HB 2 will work in tandem with the school voucher program to fund public and private schools throughout Texas.
Notably, public schools in Texas have vied for funding in recent years to address a backlog of maintenance, capital improvements, budget shortfalls and payroll initiatives. The last increase to base public school funding and previous school funding bill was in 2019.
The enactment of HB 2 would drastically increase pay for teachers across the board. The bill authorizes approximately $4.2 billion toward permanent pay raises for teachers and staff. The record-setting amount includes support for incentive pay, retention strategies and training programs to improve the quality of education.
Public school teachers and educators with 5,000 or fewer students and less than four years of experience will receive a $4,000 raise. Teachers in districts with more than 5,000 students are slated for a $2,500 raise.
Tenured teachers—more than five years of experience— in 5,000-student-or-less districts will be afforded an $8,000 increase while tenured educators in larger districts will receive $5,000 boosts.
The bill provides a $55 per-student increase to the basic allotment—the foundational funding that school districts receive from the state. This allotment is designed to provide districts broad flexibility to cover essential needs such as teacher salaries, classroom materials, maintenance and extracurricular programs.
In addition to the basic allotment adjustment, the bill allocates over $100 per student for operational support, such as transportation, insurance, utilities and hiring retired educators.
The public school funding bill will also authorize nearly $2 billion for special education programs throughout the state, including formula programs, early childhood learning programs, technical education and school safety infrastructure.
While negotiations in both the Texas House and Senate sought to reinvest the funds, the passage of HB 2 will improve school districts’ funding levels for the foreseeable future as well as attracting and retaining educators throughout the state.
HB 2 represents a substantial reinvestment in Texas public schools and is expected to bring immediate relief to districts struggling with staffing, inflation and rising operational costs.
Image by Mathias Westermann from Pixabay
