$8.5 billion school funding package passes Texas Senate

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

---

Texas public schools are one step closer to receiving new state money after the Senate on Friday unanimously approved an $8.5 billion funding package, a deal born out of lengthy negotiations with the House.

House Bill 2 provides districts a $55 per-student increase to their base funding while setting aside a new pot of money for schools’ insurance, transportation, utilities and other costs. The legislation also includes billions for teacher pay and special education, as well as money for educator preparation, early childhood learning and staff salaries.

After Friday’s 31-0 vote in the Senate, HB 2 now goes back to the House, where lawmakers are expected to sign off on the changes before sending the bill to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for final approval.

Lawmakers from both chambers formally announced an agreement on how to fund the state’s schools earlier this week, as the 2025 legislative session approaches the finish line. Sen. Brandon Creighton, who chairs the Senate’s education committee, called it the most “transformative education plan that Texas has ever seen.”

“Two years ago, this chamber passed historic education reforms and funding, and took historic steps forward. But as we all know, the bill did not make it across the finish line,” the Conroe Republican said as he revealed the rewritten legislation on the Senate floor late Thursday. “In hindsight, maybe the wait was worth it, because this legislation, House Bill 2, delivers what Texas students and Texas educators truly need and have been asking for.”

The agreement on public school funding comes weeks after both chambers agreed to spend $1 billion over two years to create a school voucher program, which will allow families to use public taxpayer dollars to fund their children’s private school or pay for a wide range of school-related expenses.

Senate Republicans and Democrats alike celebrated HB 2, the funding bill, which marks a dramatic shift from the flexible spending system that district leaders and public education advocates wanted. The bill gives the Legislature broader input on how schools must spend the state money they receive.

Despite some lingering concerns, many public education advocacy organizations on Friday applauded HB 2’s passage in the Senate.

“Since 2019, we’ve seen what happens when the state makes a major investment in schools but does not return each session thereafter to build on that foundation,” Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement. “Targeted, directed allotments are a novel approach, and we hope the Legislature continues to fund them in future sessions. This must be the start of a longer conversation about what our students, educators, and schools truly need to thrive.”

In addition to the $55 per-student base funding increase, HB 2 would allocate $500 million that districts can use to increase the salaries of school counselors, librarians, nurses and other support staff. The bill also grants schools $106 per student to pay costs associated with transportation, insurance, utilities and hiring retired educators, which has become more common as schools struggle to fill their teacher vacancies.

HB 2 would raise educator pay, which represents more than $4 billion of the proposal’s overall funding. To do so, the bill dictates:

• Teachers with three to four years of experience in school districts with 5,000 or fewer students would receive a $4,000 raise, while those with five or more years of teaching on their resume would earn $8,000.
• Teachers 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.

The bill also would overhaul Texas’ special education funding system to account for the individual needs of each student; establish a compensation system for educator preparation and mentorship programs; set aside money for schools to better identify learning difficulties among the state’s youngest students; and raise the amount of money districts receive for safety upgrades.

“We've all been patient to see this day come and been patient for the last couple of days,” said Sen. Borris L. Miles, D-Houston. “This is something that we can all go home, I think, and tell our colleagues that we have changed the face of educational finance in the state of Texas.”

School administrators and public education advocates have spent much of the legislative session pleading for more money, pointing to budget shortfalls and rising operational costs. That has come as districts all over Texas have had to shutter critical programming, shorten school weeks and close campuses in no small part due to stagnant funding.

School leaders have advocated for raising the basic allotment, which districts rely on to pay the salaries of full-time district employees. The allotment also gives schools the flexibility to pay for a range of other needs on their respective campuses, including insurance, maintenance and instructional materials.

A previous House proposal had sought to boost the basic allotment from $6,160 to $6,555 per student. Senators, however, wanted a more modest allotment increase, instead focusing their attention on teacher raises tied to years of experience, location and performance.

Direct state investment in educators, senators argued, would free up districts to use more of their base funding elsewhere, including salaries for support staff and campus maintenance. But that argument did not go over well with school leaders, who felt they would still struggle to provide similar raises to employees other than teachers who are critical to school operations and positive student outcomes.

Districts also worried they would be left dealing with inflationary pressures that have only intensified since the state last raised the basic allotment in 2019. The Legislature decided two years ago not to provide schools with a significant boost in funding after the failed 2023 attempt to create a school voucher program.

This year, with a bill creating vouchers already signed into law, lawmakers say they have settled on the Senate’s modest $55 basic allotment increase while sending schools money to address some of the basic costs districts said they struggled with.

Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said on Friday: “We're not going to let perfect get in the way of good.”

---

First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!