Texas Senate unveils public school funding plan with major differences from House version
With just over two weeks left in the legislative session, Texas senators have introduced their version of the sweeping public school funding bill, House Bill 2, which diverges significantly from the House's proposal passed in April.
The Senate Education Committee held a public hearing on the bill on Thursday.
Lawmakers split on school funding plans
Both chambers aim to invest billions in public education, but lawmakers remain divided over how the money should be distributed.
"At the end of the day, the difference right now is how we're flowing that funding and how we're directing school districts to spend that money," said Bob Popinski, senior director of policy at Raise Your Hand Texas.
House and Senate clash over school funding flexibility
It has been for public schools. The House plan would raise the basic allotment by $395 per student, offering school districts more flexible funding to cover teacher and support staff salaries, daily operations, and rising costs driven by inflation.
In contrast, the Senate's version proposes a more modest $55 increase to the basic allotment, opting instead to allocate the largest share of funding to teacher pay raises. These raises would favor teachers with more experience and those in smaller districts.
"For districts that are trying to balance budgets and get out of structural deficits that have been caused by inflation, the House version helps do that," said Kimberly Smith, chief finance and strategy officer for Frisco ISD. "And the Senate's version is so directed towards teacher pay raises that it's going to present a challenge for us to give raises to the other half of our staff that aren't teachers. So while we're really grateful for any investment in public education, and we definitely think our teachers deserve a raise, it's going to be much harder to get through the next couple of years without more flexible funding."
Education funding bill nears final negotiations
Both versions of House Bill 2 include additional funding for special education services, the teacher pipeline, and full-day pre-K.
"Both versions do incredible things for our public schools," said Bob Popinski, senior director of policy at Raise Your Hand Texas. "Any amount to move the ball forward on funding our schools is a good step forward, and so we hope we get something across the finish line."
The Senate version must still clear the committee and pass on the Senate floor. If approved, the bill will likely head to a conference committee, where lawmakers from both chambers will try to reconcile the differences.
"I think our main message is we all heartedly appreciate the work that both the House and Senate have done to invest in public education," Smith said. "I don't think any bill that passes at this point is going to be perfect and exactly what every district needs, but we can take a step forward now, and then we can work through the interim and in the next session to take another step forward, and so on and so forth."
The legislative session ends June 2.
