Late last night, the Texas Senate passed HB 2 by Rep. Buckley/Sen. Creighton in a preliminary vote after adopting a handful of amendments to the Senate committee version bill. UPDATE: Final passage came on a unanimous 31-0 vote Friday evening.
The current iteration of HB 2 is the product of intense negotiations between the House and Senate over the course of weeks. Rumors about the details circulated the Capitol nonstop, but the parties involved kept that information under wraps until the last few days. Even as details emerged, more last-minute changes left observers wondering what would emerge from the Senate in the end.
Teacher Pay
Among the changes from the version that had passed out of the Senate Education Committee was a shift of some funding from teacher salaries in order to guarantee salary increases to non-teacher, non-administrator staff as well (counselors, librarians, nurses, diagnosticians, paraprofessionals, etc.).
These raises will begin in the 2025-2026 school year.
The tables below show a before and after of the structure of teacher raises:
Initial plan for teacher pay raises:
| Experience/District Size | Less than 5000 students | 5000 or more students |
|---|---|---|
| 3-4 Years | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| 5+ Years | $10,000 | $5,500 |
Senate-approved plan for teacher pay raises:
| Experience/District Size | Less than 5000 students | 5000 or more students |
|---|---|---|
| 3-4 Years | $4,000 | $2,500 |
| 5+ Years | $8,000 | $5,000 |
Notably, the $500 million set aside for non-teachers, non-administrators is not prescribed specifically like the teacher allotments shown above, leaving districts to determine how much those employees receive.
Fixed Cost Allotment
A new addition to HB 2 is the Fixed Cost Allotment, $1.3 billion intended for districts to address a variety of ongoing costs incurred from district operations. This includes the cost of diesel for school buses, insurance premiums, and utility costs. School districts testified that the tight strings attached to the new funding in the bill would prevent them from addressing many of the needs that currently weigh down their budgets. Senate leaders hope that this new allotment will take some pressure off maintenance costs in district budgets, freeing up current funding sources for other needs.
Special education
In the original draft, HB 2 reserved $1.3 billion for increased special education support, but to create the Fixed Cost Allotment without adding more money to the bill, Senate leaders removed around $450 million from special education funding, leaving around $850 million.
Other changes
To create the Fixed Cost Allotment, there were also small deductions from charter facility, teacher preparation and school safety funding pools.
HB 2 is set to be one of the most significant infusions of public school funding in years. Time will tell if it is significant enough to move the needle on teacher retention, special education outcomes, and more, but most observers are optimistic.
With the Senate's final approval, HB 2 heads back to the House, which is expected to concur with the Senate's changes to send the bill to Gov. Abbott.
TCTA will keep you updated on the final steps of HB 2's journey as the session draws to a close.
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