Texas education advocates say $8.5B school funding package 'a step in the right direction'
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a sweeping public school finance bill into law on Wednesday, bringing new state money to public schools in dire need of it.
House Bill 2 is an $8.5 billion package of funding for public schools, the most significant increase in funding for public education in the state's history. The public school funding package is a deal between lawmakers in the House and Senate, the result of negotiations to reconcile differing visions between the two chambers on how to provide public schools with more funding.
It would raise the base amount of money public schools receive for each student, known as the "basic allotment," by $55 per student. It includes $1.3 billion for a new Allotment for Basic Costs, which works out to $106 per student, designed to help schools cover the costs of items such as utilities, transportation and health care.
"House Bill 2 ensures that our schools are funded better than ever. Teacher pay and student funding are at all-time highs. Reading and math performance is on an upward trajectory, and students will be better prepared for the workforce than ever before," Abbott said. "The foundation is now in place for Texas education to begin the upward climb of the ranks toward the pathway of eventually being ranked No. 1 for education in the United States of America."
The signing ceremony took place in the library of Salado Middle School, which is located in the hometown of State Rep. Brad Buckley (R-Salado), who chaired the House Public Education Committee and led the push for the Legislature to pass the record public education funding.
"There's never been a more important time to put the resources in the hands of our educators for us to be No. 1," Buckley said.
It lays out a structure for how schools spend the money in ways directed by the Legislature, which is a shift from the more flexible system education advocates have pushed for.
State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) called House Bill 2 the most "transformative education plan that Texas has ever seen."
"I think it is a generational change for our public schools," Creighton said. "The strategies that we invested in early literacy and numeracy and the teacher compensation and teacher prep and teacher certification, the fact that this teacher allotment for compensation is not just a bonus or a stipend; it's for the first time, permanent, and it will grow permanently, and that cup will be filled every single biennium going forward. That is incredible."
The basic allotment has not been increased since 2019, and many Texas school district leaders have stated that an increased basic allotment would provide them with the flexibility to address campus needs. Districts also use the money to pay for essential goods and services.
For years, public school administrators have requested an increase in the basic allotment as districts struggle with inflation and rising costs. Several school districts have experienced budget deficits and had to make painful cuts to programs and facilities in recent years. Education advocates say that to account for inflation fully, schools need an additional $1,300 in basic allotment.
Teacher pay raises
The negotiated public school funding bill includes $4.2 billion for what would be the largest teacher raises in history. There are permanent across-the-board pay raises for all teachers in their third year of teaching, with an increase of at least double that pay raise at five years.
The raises target teachers in rural areas, where they are in short supply and needed the most.
Those with three to four years of experience in school districts with 5,000 students or less would receive a $4,000 raise, while those with five or more years of teaching on their resume would earn $8,000. According to the bill, educators with three to four years of experience in school districts with more than 5,000 students would earn a $2,500 raise, while those with five or more years of experience would receive $5,000.
HB 2 also allocates $500 million, roughly $46 per student, that districts can use to increase the salaries of school counselors, librarians, nurses and other support staff.
"This allows more teachers to focus entirely on teaching without the constant worry of earning a livable wage and keeps our most effective teachers in the classroom," Temple Independent School District teacher JoMeka Gray said.
According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the average salary for a Texas teacher during the 2023-24 school year was $62,474, which is thousands behind the national average. According to the National Education Association, the average salary for a teacher nationwide was $71,699.
Ovidia Molina, the president of the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA), said even with the raises, Texas will still be in the middle of the pack for teacher pay.
"We're going to see districts getting creative with how they incentivize staying in their districts because the pay raises, though they're bigger than we've seen in quite a while, still don't cover inflation, and they still don't cover the fact that you haven't gotten a significant raise in a very long time, so you're still having to cover something that isn't fully being funded," Molina said.
The basic allotment is often used to pay teacher salaries but also gives districts flexibility to cover expenses such as insurance, maintenance and instructional materials. Under HB 2, the allotment would be tied to property value growth, meaning it would automatically increase every two years.
Abbott said the bill will address factors driving up education costs while prioritizing classroom needs.
"Teacher pay raises have been allocated increasingly separately because we wanted to make sure that 100 cents on the dollar was actually reaching the teacher, as opposed to any of that money being used for administrative expenses," Abbott said.
Education advocates respond
By directly funding teacher salaries, state lawmakers said it would free up the base funding for districts to use elsewhere, such as for support staff like bus drivers, librarians and nurses. However, that has met opposition from some school leaders.
"This bill has more districts with their hands tied as to how they're spending the money, and the flexibility that is needed is essential to ensuring that our students get what they deserve at the local level," Molina said. "Texas is proud of having local control and allowing communities to be able to say what goes on for their needs, but that has sort of been lost in this bill. This is the state telling school districts what to do and not necessarily thinking about our students and what they need."
Molina said HB 2 is a step in the right direction, but it's not what the union anticipated.
"We are excited that some of the school districts are going to be getting some assistance and support to ensure that our educators and our students are taken care of," Molina said. "It is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. It doesn't cover for inflation, and it doesn't go very far when it comes to the per-student allotment."
Molina added that in order for Texas to compete with other states and keep up with inflation, several billion dollars need to be added to each public education budget cycle.
"The money has to go into certain pockets, so it may not cover and save our public schools from closing. It may not cover the fact that we need to get more educators into the profession," Molina said. "What it does is it alleviates a little bit of the hurt that's been put on to our public schools by the state not funding them every single time that there's a surplus."
More details about the bill
The legislation also changes the Teacher Incentive Allotment to expand eligibility and allow more teachers to qualify for the performance-based reward program. Lawmakers are also raising the ceiling so that top-performing teachers get larger pay increases. Abbott said it will put more teachers on the pathway to earning a six-figure salary.
"Our teachers will not just be better paid, they will be better prepared for their classrooms," Abbott said.
The negotiated bill fully funds full-day pre-K, includes money for early learning programs and $153 million for career and technical education (CTE) and $155 million for teacher preparation and certification programs.
"The purpose of education is not just gaining knowledge. It's also developing skills that will build a career that will also advance our state. Our state needs more professionals in high-paying careers like nurses, welders, mechanics, plumbers and electricians," Abbott said. "This law will prepare students for the workforce by expanding career pathways, especially in rural districts, increasing funding for programs in high-demand fields, and providing resources for career-training facilities."
House Bill 2 aims to improve early literacy and math skills through targeted investments, utilizing screening exams. It includes funding for intervention programs for students who fail two consecutive screening exams to help improve their reading performance before they reach the third grade and creates new math training programs for K-8 teachers.
House Bill 2 includes $2.2 billion to overhaul special education, and new state funding for special education evaluations of homeschooled or private school students is also reimbursed at $1,000 per evaluation.
It also includes $300 million in additional funds for small and mid-size schools, $430 million for school safety funding and $200 million to expand charter school facilities.
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