The 148-page proposal would spend nearly $7.6 billion on public education. Bill author Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, said this would be “a larger investment for Texas public schools and our education system than any other legislation we’ve filed in the history of the state.”
A March 6 hearing had not ended as of press time, but Buckley said he intended to make changes to HB 2 before holding a vote on the measure during a March 18 meeting.
“It's important to put more dollars in Texas classrooms. ... HB 2 represents a strategic, student-centered investment in public education,” Buckley said March 4. “It provides teacher support and a substantial investment in special education, all while ensuring district flexibility.”
In a nutshell
HB 2 would raise the base amount of money schools receive per student, known as the basic allotment, from $6,160 to $6,380. Some public education advocates said the proposed $220 increase falls short of what schools need.
“We do understand that the bill targets very specific cost drivers outside of the basic allotment and that does relieve some of the pressure from the basic allotment. ... However, we do feel that currently, the increase of $220 will not restore school districts’ purchasing power to that of 2019, when the allotment was last increased,” Kelly Rasti, who leads governmental relations for the Texas Association of School Boards, said March 4.
The bill would also expand the portion of the basic allotment that schools must spend on teacher salaries. Current state law stipulates at least 30% of any increase to the basic allotment be used to raise salaries for non-administrative staff, such as teachers, nurses, counselors and more. HB 2 would expand that to 40%—at odds with the Texas Senate’s teacher pay plan, which proposes eliminating the restriction.
Buckley proposed expanding the Teacher Incentive Allotment, a program designed to put teachers on the path to a six-figure salary. Similar to the Senate’s proposal, educators recognized under the TIA could earn up to $36,000 on top of their general salary under HB 2. The current maximum boost is $32,000.
“[This would] strengthen our educator workforce, ensuring more of our most effective teachers are rewarded and retained in the classroom. ... With these two things... teachers will see a significant pay increase next year,” Buckley said March 4.
HB 2 would also prohibit school districts from employing uncertified educators to teach English, mathematics, science and social studies courses. Of the 49,400 teachers hired in Texas during the 2023-24 school year, over 17,000 of them were unlicensed, according to Texas Education Agency data.
For special education, the bill proposes overhauling funding to allocate resources based on students’ individual needs, rather than where they receive services. In a December 2022 report, the Texas Commission on Special Education Funding said switching to this funding model would "effectively account for the unique, individualized needs of students with disabilities.”
The details
During a Feb. 25 hearing, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath told committee members teacher certification was “an area worthy of significant attention” this legislative session.
“We have, in the last 3 years, gone almost entirely to hiring uncertified teachers—the majority of first-year teachers are now uncertified,” Morath said. “We are setting these folks up for a very rough ride.”
HB 2 would create a new state allotment to help school districts pay prospective teachers who complete a classroom residency program with the district in order to obtain their teaching certificate. Residents would receive a stipend of at least $3,000, according to the bill.
“For the first time ever, Texas will be investing in teacher preparation and certification,” Buckley said March 4. “Currently, teachers must pay out of their pocket, pay their own way to get certified, and it's beyond time that we make investments in these professionals.”
Kailey Lambert, an elementary school teacher for Midland ISD, participated in a paid teacher residency program while in college. Lambert told the committee March 4 that being paired with a mentor teacher gave her “a safety net to make mistakes” before entering the classroom on her own.
“Without the stipend that I received through the teacher residency program, there’s no way I would’ve been able to solely focus on my preparation to become an educator,” Lambert said. “Opportunities to earn and learn, like I had, are desperately needed to attract more candidates to enter into high-quality programs that can help them become successful educators and stay in the profession.”
Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano said March 4 that his wife is currently working to become a certified teacher. Leach said certification costs about $5,000, noting that for some Texans, this may be “an insurmountable hurdle for someone who is called to teach.”
Also of note
State lawmakers last adjusted the base amount of per-student funding schools receive in 2019, raising it from $5,140 to $6,160. According to Raise Your Hand Texas, a public school advocacy organization, Texas should increase the basic allotment to at least $7,500 to keep pace with inflation.
Democratic lawmakers asked several school leaders March 4 if the $220 basic allotment increase proposed in HB 2 would be sufficient.
“Heck no,” said Greg Gilbert, superintendent of Santo ISD and president of the Texas Association of Rural Schools. “But I’m happy for the help.”
Gilbert said he estimated the proposed $220 increase would cost the state about $3 billion, while a $1,300 boost would come with an $11 billion price tag.
Austin ISD superintendent Matias Segura testified March 4 that state funding for school programs “oftentimes... does not come close to matching the services that we're providing.” On special education, Segura said the district receives about $97 million from the state and spends about $169 million.
Chandra Villanueva, the policy director for the progressive think tank Every Texan, noted lawmakers were considering spending $6.5 billion on new property tax cuts this session and encouraged lawmakers to use some of that money for public education instead.
“I think it’s really alarming and potentially harmful to be looking at another $6.5 billion in tax cuts when we did $22 billion in tax cuts last session,” Villanueva said March 4. “The longer we wait to make these inflationary adjustments and really shore up the system, it gets more and more expensive every year.”
Teacher advocates said a “significant” increase to the basic allotment was the best way to guarantee across-the-board raises for educators.
Paige Williams, policy director for the Texas Classroom Teachers Association, said her organization appreciated the Senate’s teacher pay plan, which would raise salaries for teachers with at least three years of experience, with larger raises for educators in small school districts. Still, she said raising the basic allotment is the “gold standard approach.”
Williams added that lawmakers should not rely on the Teacher Incentive Allotment to help raise educator salaries, because not all school districts participate and not all teachers qualify.
“We need more significant funding sent directly to teachers, diagnosticians, librarians, counselors, paraprofessionals,” she said. “I don't want the committee or the legislature to think that by including more money for the Teacher Incentive Allotment, they are addressing the teacher pay problem.”
In a discussion with Williams, Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, said lawmakers need to focus on sending money directly to the classroom.
“I think we all need to remember as legislators, anytime we have a great new idea, that often we are emphasizing something other than the classroom,” Frank said March 4.
