Texas Senate panel unveils amended version of $8B school finance proposal

“The governor himself promised on [the] record that we would fully fund both an ESA program and public schools in this session,” Plano ISD fine arts director Phillip Morgan said during the May 15 hearing. “This substitute does not fulfill his promise. Please do the work and help us—a promise made should be a promise kept.”

Zooming in

During the hearing, some school leaders and public education advocates said they were concerned that HB 2 would not prioritize increases to the base amount of money schools receive per student, known as the basic allotment. The updated proposal would raise the basic allotment by $55, down from a $395 increase approved by the House.

“The small increase in the basic allotment will provide only limited help in dealing with increased inflationary costs for insurance, utilities and transportation,” Boerne ISD trustee Rich Sena told the committee May 15. “However, we realize there are only so many public dollars to go around.”

State lawmakers last adjusted the basic allotment in 2019, raising it from $5,140 to $6,160. Raise Your Hand Texas, a public school advocacy organization, has estimated that Texas would need to increase the basic allotment to at least $7,500 to keep pace with recent inflation.

Schools can use basic allotment funds for a variety of needs, including purchasing classroom materials, renovating facilities and paying teachers or support staff.

“Our school districts need more money in the basic allotment and not in these specialized allotments, so that they have the flexibility to do what they need in their local communities,” Rachael Abell, the vice president of advocacy for the Texas PTA, told Community Impact. “Our school boards are locally elected. We need to have faith in them, that they know their community best [and] know how to spend the money in order to get our students ready and have the best outcomes.”

Creighton pushed back against concerns about basic allotment funding during the May 15 hearing. Because HB 2 would include dedicated funding for initiatives such as teacher pay raises, early literacy and career and technical education, Creighton said schools would be able to use the basic allotment for “all those other needs: transportation, energy—all those other costs that are real and impactful, but they’re diverse in how the districts need to use them.”

House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, defended the smaller basic allotment increase during a May 14 news conference.

“Looking at just one number and not what the entire bill does, I don’t think is what we need to be doing,” Burrows said. “[It’s the] largest amount of school finance in history that’s actually classroom dollars. This is real money that’s going to get to public education that’s in need of it.”

More details

The Senate’s version of HB 2 would provide permanent raises for teachers with at least three years of experience. The bill proposes spending about $4 billion to create a new teacher retention allotment, which was originally proposed under SB 26.

That bill was unanimously approved by the Senate in February and folded into the latest version of HB 2, according to documents from Creighton’s office.

In February, Creighton told reporters Texas “ranks 15th in the nation in starting teacher salaries” but falls behind other states when it comes to paying experienced teachers. The average Texas teacher was paid $62,474 during the 2023-24 school year, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. Nationwide, the average teacher salary was $71,699 during the same period, the National Education Association estimated.

Creighton has said the proposed allotment would help close a pay gap between urban or suburban and rural teachers.

In districts with 5,000 students or less, teachers with three to four years of experience would receive a $5,000 raise, while those with at least five years of experience would receive a $10,000 boost. In districts with over 5,000 students, educators with three to four years of experience would get a $2,500 raise, and more experienced teachers would earn a $5,500 raise, according to the bill.

HB 2 would also create a new state allotment aimed at helping prospective teachers become certified.

During a Feb. 25 committee hearing, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath told House lawmakers that teacher certification was “an area worthy of significant attention” this session.

“We have, in the last three 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.”

Of the 49,400 teachers hired in Texas during the 2023-24 school year, over 17,000 of them were uncertified, per TEA data. The Senate’s version of HB 2 would offer stipends for teacher candidates who complete one of several educator certification programs, including university-based programs and classroom residencies.

Beginning in the 2029-30 school year, districts would not be allowed to hire uncertified teachers to teach core subjects, according to the bill.

Also of note

HB 2 would increase state funding for special education by about $1.3 billion, Creighton said. The proposal would overhaul special education 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 House version of the bill proposed a roughly $1.5 billion increase in special education funding, Community Impact reported.

During the May 15 hearing, some Texans said they were concerned that the Senate’s version of HB 2 would not include dedicated funding for fine arts courses. The proposal approved by the House would create a fine arts allotment worth about $49 per student, which schools could use to pay for fine arts courses for students in grades 6-12.

Texas does not currently provide specialized fine arts funding. During public testimony, members of the Texas Fine Arts Administrators Association asked senators to return the proposed allotment to HB 2.

“The fine arts are essential, they're not optional—and restoring the fine arts allotment is a critical step in ensuring that every child has access to the full promise of public education,” Pflugerville ISD fine arts director Manuel Gamez told the committee. “We cannot allow a student’s ZIP code to determine whether they will have the opportunity to paint, perform or find their voice through the arts.”

Next steps

State lawmakers have until June 2—the end of the regular legislative session—to reach an agreement on the nearly $8 billion school funding proposal.

The Texas House Democratic Caucus criticized the Senate’s version of HB 2 in a May 14 news release, calling the proposal “a hollowed-out version” of the original bill.

“The Senate's evisceration of HB 2 will mean more school closures, teacher layoffs and program cuts,” the caucus wrote. “Texas children will pay the price for [Lt. Gov.] Dan Patrick’s betrayal of public education.”

Support from a simple majority of the 150-member House, or 76 votes, would be needed to approve the Senate’s changes to the bill. There are 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats in the lower chamber, according to the Texas Legislative Reference Library.

If HB 2 is approved by both chambers, it will head to the governor’s desk. During a May 14 news conference, Abbott called the amended bill “the best thing we can do for the most important part of education, and that is providing our teachers with a pay raise they need and deserve.”