School finance proposal worth $8.5 billion advances in Texas; implications for educators and students on Governor Abbott's desk.
Texas Legislature Reaches Consensus on School Funding Bill
Following months of deliberations and negotiations behind closed doors, the recently proposed school funding bill, House Bill 2, has advanced to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for his signature. The legislation secured the required approval from lawmakers on Thursday.
Over the last few weeks, the Texas Legislature saw continuous exchanges over the distribution of the billions of dollars earmarked for public schools. Lawmakers aimed to reach a compromise that would attain sufficient support to pass through both chambers.
A breakthrough was reached between the House and Senate last week, leading to a bill that was acceptable to both parties. On Wednesday, House Education Committee Chair Rep. Brad Buckley expressed his approval of the compromise.
”This bill is about prioritizing the classroom, maintaining safe schools, and investing in early education, early literacy, and numeracy, career and technical education, and our teachers," said Buckley.
The final version of HB 2 allocates $8.5 billion for the public school system. Speaker Dustin Burrows stated that the amended legislation represents a significant increase in school funding and teacher salaries during this session.
Lawmakers consider it the largest single increase in public education funding since Texas's history, despite Chandra Villanueva of Every Texan arguing that the adjusted sum falls short of the amount added to the education system in 1984.
School leaders and public education advocates have urged state legislators to boost the basic allotment to help schools recover from the pandemic's financial strain. The basic allotment is the base amount of funding allocated per student under the Texas school funding formula, which is adjusted based on a school's specific characteristics.
Experts and advocates suggest that the basic allotment would require at least a $1,100 increase to account for inflation since the last adjustment in 2019. However, the school funding package headed to the governor's desk does not utilize the $8.5 billion for public schools to increase the basic allotment. Instead, new allotments are created in the bill, which can only be used as directed.
Brandon Creighton, Senate K-16 Education Chair, expressed his view that these funds will be committed to classroom priorities and student success. The bill has received praise from advocacy groups like Raise Your Hand Texas, who acknowledge that it offers much-needed support to districts while urging for further increases in the future.
HB 2 includes funds for various educational priorities:
- Teacher and Staff Pay Raises: The bill allots nearly half of its funding for teacher and staff pay raises, totaling $4.2 billion. The funds focus on increasing base salaries and bonuses for educators to improve retention and recruitment.
- Basic Costs: The legislation allocates $1.3 billion for expenses like insurance, utilities, and contributions to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
- Special Education: HB 2 sets aside $850 million for special education programs, including funding for student evaluations.
- School Safety: The bill dedicates $430 million for school safety enhancements. Funds may be used for security measures such as perimeter fencing, safety upgrades, and window security film.
- Full-day Pre-K: While HB 2 funds full-day pre-K education, concerns have been raised that the measure does not provide enough funding, as pre-K is still funded at half the rate of kindergarten, even though full-day pre-K is now mandatory.
- Amidst the ongoing political negotiations, the education sector receives substantial attention with Governor Greg Abbott considering the School Funding Bill (HB 2), which contains provisions for teacher and staff pay raises, amounting to $4.2 billion.
- The Texas Legislature's focus on education extends beyond teacher compensation into general news discourse, with the bill also allocating funds for special education programs, totaling $850 million, and school safety enhancements, which receive $430 million.
- With an increasing emphasis on education-and-self-development, the news landscape also covers debates surrounding the insufficient funding for full-day pre-K education under HB 2, despite it now being mandatory, as the funding is still at half the rate of kindergarten.
