Our Public Schools and Teachers Are Counting on Texas Lawmakers 

We’re at the halfway point in the 89th Texas Legislative Session, and we’ve seen limited progress on the issues that are felt the most in local communities, our public schools, and around the students’ and teachers’ desks in our classrooms. 

State leaders can’t afford to neglect the needs of those back home. Ours is a large and diverse state and includes urban, suburban, and rural communities and needs. But one thing unites us all – a love for our local schools and teachers.

We can’t afford to repeat what happened two years ago when state lawmakers left a multi-million dollar surplus untouched, passing a budget with no new money for local public schools.

Leaving money on the table meant schools didn’t receive the funding they needed, all while Texas ranks 46th in the nation in per-student funding, falling $4,400 below the national average. To make matters worse, inflation has risen by 22% since 2019. To maintain the same level of state funding for public schools, adjusted for inflation, would require an additional $1,300 to the basic allotment, which currently stands at $6,160 per student—a figure unchanged since 2019. 

Money matters in public education, and our schools’ dire situation is mounting. Most public schools in Texas have adopted deficit budgets this school year, some even having to close campuses and institute hiring freezes. 

Yet through this financial storm, Texas public school students scored above the national average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in math and just below the national average on reading, all while being 46th in the nation in per-student funding. Most states scoring in the top 10 on NAEP spend more than $5,000 to $10,000 more per student.

It’s not sustainable or realistic to deny the funding our public school students and teachers need, especially when surveys of Texans repeatedly point to the need to increase funding for our schools.

A February 2025 survey of Texas voters by The University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Politics Project found only 2% of voters said vouchers, educational savings accounts (ESAs), or school choice should be the Texas Legislature’s top priority. Respondents placed more of an emphasis on “school safety,” “teacher pay and retention,” and “public school financing.” 

That’s consistent with other recent polls. When asked about the importance of providing more money to Texas public schools, 77% of poll respondents in a recent Perception Insights backed more funding for public schools.

The crisis facing our local public schools results from a perfect storm: double-digit inflation, enrollment declines, and the end of federal stimulus funding for COVID-19. 

It’s leaving the community’s local public schools in true financial peril.

Ultimately, the Texas Legislature controls the future of Texas public schools. It has the power to improve them by providing the funding and resources needed to ensure a high-quality public education for every young Texan. 

Here’s What the Texas Legislature Can Do for Public Schools:

• Increase state funding for public school students and education programs, focusing on raising teacher pay.
• Implement an automatic annual adjustment to the Basic Allotment—the foundation of per-student funding—to address inflation and our schools’ growing needs.
• Reinvest state savings due to local school district property value growth into public schools.

We’re watching several school funding-focused bills, including House Bill 1 (the state’s budget), that could impact funding for teachers and students in local public schools. Those include:

• House Bill 1 by Rep. Bonnen, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, is the initial proposal for the House related to the state budget for the next two years. The House’s budget bill recommends  $4.85 billion ($2.425 billion per year) in new funding for the Foundation School Program, $1 billion for an education savings account program, $400 million for school safety improvements, $450 million for the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) to minimize premium increases, and more. 

• Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Huffman, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, keeps base-level funding stagnant for the 5.5 million Texas public school students. SB 1 emphasizes $6.5 billion in property tax cuts while only providing $4.9 billion to enhance school formula funding.  

• House Bill 2 by Rep. Buckley, Chair of the House Committee on Public Education, would provide $7.5 billion over the next two years in new funding through various programs and allotments, including increasing the Basic Allotment by $220 from $6,160 to $6,380 and increasing the small- and mid-sized district allotment and special education funding weights. HB 2 would also expand the current Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program and create a local optional teacher designation system grant. It would also incentivize districts to provide additional days in the school year and make a fine arts allotment.

• Senate Bill 26 (SB 26) by Sen. Creighton, Chair of the Senate Committee on Education K-16, is a bill that would provide about $4.3 billion in funding for several programs, such as teacher pay increases for eligible teachers and the expansion of the Teacher Incentive Allotment program. Free pre-K for teachers’ children is also included in this bill.

Our state is touted as having the 8th largest economy in the world. It’s time to consider funding for our public schools, students, and teachers as a long-term priority and significant ongoing commitment. Doing so will ensure we maintain our state’s economic strength. 

Supporting our public schools, students, and teachers takes all of us. So, sign up for our Raise Your Hand Texas e-newsletters and text alerts to stay informed and engaged.