Will Texas lawmakers OK teacher raises? More school funding? Here’s latest bill
.JPG "A Star-Telegram file photo of Colleyville Elementary School children boarding the bus on Aug. 29, 2007")
Texas school districts and public education advocates have asked state lawmakers for more money for teachers and students. The latest version of the Texas Legislature’s response was fully unveiled on Thursday.
The proposal comes in the form of a Senate committee substitute for for House Bill 2, the chamber’s school funding plan. That version of the bill included measures like teacher pay raises and a $395 increase in the base amount schools get per student, according to the House Speaker’s office.
Lawmakers also approved a $1 billion school voucher bill creating education savings accounts that parents can use for their child’s private education or homeschooling. Gov. Greg Abbott has signed the voucher bill into law.
Here’s what’s in the latest version of the public school funding bill.
Teacher pay raises
The bill is wide-ranging, but two of its goals deal with teacher pay raises and the amount of money schools get per student.
Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican carrying the school finance bill in the Senate, outlined its key provisions during a May 15 committee hearing. Among them were pay bumps for educators.
Creighton said the $8 billion bill includes a permanent teacher compensation allotment. He said this is different than a one time stipend or bonus.
The bill sets aside money for teachers in the classroom for three or more years, Creighton said.
“These are guaranteed raises that begin in the third year of teaching,” Creighton said.
According to the bill, teachers in districts with 5,000 or more students would get an extra $2,000 in pay if they have three or four years of experience. The raise jumps to $5,500 if they’ve been teaching for more than five years.
The raises are larger for districts with less than 5,000 students
The permanent teacher compensation allotment would live beyond this legislation, providing for pay increases each biennium, Creighton said.
“That represents billions of dollars in impact to our districts and commitment as a budget culture from the legislature from here forward, that if that cup is tinkered with, it’s going to be very obvious to all of our teachers out there that there’s some manipulation with that allotment,” Creighton said..
He said the bill also expands the Teacher Incentive Allotment, which aims to incentive and retain teachers.
“All of our teachers deserve a lift and support and respect and dignity and earnings that help them make life make sense so that our littles in the classroom can have their support without stress,” Creighton said.
Student funding
Creighton said the basic allotment would be increased by $55. Given other pay raise initiatives in the bill, a portion of the per student money wouldn’t be required to fund teacher pay raises. The dollars would be freed up to pay for other staff, like custodians, librarians and bus drivers, he said.
“There’s more freedom and flexibility and complete freedom and flexibility in the new Senate and House negotiated bill for the use of the basic allotment, where previously it had guardrails telling districts how to use that money,” Creighton said.
The Texas House Democratic Caucus has criticized the Senate version of the bill. Members were scheduled to hold a news conference on May 15 but it was postponed as House lawmakers push up against a key deadline for the passage of House bills.
In an email announcing the news conference, the caucus described the bill as “a hollowed-out version” of what passed out of the House.
Texas State Teachers Association spokesperson Clay Robison said there are “some good things” in the bill, including better funding for special education.
“But the bill won’t fix the teacher shortage or address most of the budget shortfalls that have prompted many school districts to cut programs and jobs,” he said in a statement. “The average teacher pay in Texas now is more than $10,400 less than the national average. Many teachers who already are thinking about quitting or retiring early aren’t going to be persuaded to change their minds by what the Senate is offering in this bill.
“Texas spends more than $5,600 less than the national average in per-student funding, based on average daily attendance. This bill won’t do much to change that either. Diverting tax dollars to private schools was the top priority of the governor and legislative leaders this session, and that hasn’t changed.”
What’s next?
The new version of House Bill 2 is being considered in the Senate’s Education K-16 committee. If voted out of committee, it will head to the Senate for approval, then the Hous,e where lawmakers could accept or reject the Senate’s changes.
If it clears the House, the bill would head to Abbott’s desk.
Asked about the Senate’s version during a May 14 news conference, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican, said he’s very excited and optimistic about the status of school funding bill.
“Eight billion dollars of funding, and if you look at the key components of when it left the House — special education funding, teacher pay, looking at full day funding for pre-K, looking at lots of the different component parts — what I understand, most of those are in that bill,” Burrows said.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican who serves as the president of the Senate, called it a “masterpiece of school finance” during the news conference.
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 1:49 PM.
