House Bill 2 Written Testimony of Max Rombado

Raise Your Hand Texas submitted the following written testimony to the Texas House Committee on Public Education on Thursday, March 6, 2025. Raise Your Hand Texas will continue to keep the public informed through written and invited/public testimony on the issues related to public education in Texas.

Written Testimony of Max Rombado

Legislative Director

Raise Your Hand Texas

Before the Texas House Committee on Public Education

The Honorable Brad Buckley, Chair

House Bill 2 by Representative Buckley:  Support

Key Points: 

• Raise Your Hand Texas supports the additional investments in our students, teachers, and public schools made in HB 2 by Chairman Buckley through the changes the legislation makes to our state’s various Foundation School Program funding formulas, including the Basic Allotment and special education funding formulas.
• Raise Your Hand Texas looks forward to discussing other teacher workforce policies that will help attract, train, and retain teachers in our state, including funding for the Future Texas Teacher Scholarship Program that was passed in 2023.
• While also not yet included in the bill, Raise Your Hand Texas supports creating an automatic annual inflationary adjustment tied to the Basic Allotment using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or some similar indicator.

Raise Your Hand Texas supports HB 2 by Rep. Buckley as an essential first step toward addressing the urgent funding needs of Texas’ students, teachers, and public schools. This legislation aims to increase key allotments, including the Basic Allotment, which has remained unchanged for the last six years.

During this period, Texas has experienced significant inflation, creating immense pressure on public schools to fund critical areas such as teacher and staff salaries, health insurance, energy costs, and more. HB 2 will provide much-needed relief and additional funding to help schools navigate these challenges.

However, we believe more needs to be done. Raise Your Hand Texas recommends the creation of an automatic annual inflationary adjustment to the Basic Allotment, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or a similar indicator, to ensure that funding keeps pace with the rising costs schools face.

Additionally, we look forward to discussing further policy initiatives to attract, train, and retain teachers. One such initiative is the Future Texas Teacher Scholarship Program, which was authorized last session but has yet to be funded. This program would provide scholarships to aspiring teachers to attend high-quality educator preparation programs, helping build a strong pipeline of educators for Texas’ classrooms.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Buckley for his leadership on several key initiatives within HB 2:

• The inclusion of the Fine Arts Allotment which will support arts education and ensure that all students have access to a well-rounded curriculum.
• The creation of a new High School Advising Program aimed at better supporting students’ pathways to postsecondary education and career readiness.
• The increase in the Compensatory Education Allotment which will help districts provide additional support to students who face greater challenges, ensuring they have the resources to succeed.
• The establishment of a salary program for beginning teachers that differentiates between standard, intern, and residency teaching certificates. 

Again, thank you, Chairman Buckley, for taking the first step toward this important issue.  Raise Your Hand Texas looks forward to continued progress throughout the session.