Publish Date: May 26, 2025 2:43 pm Author: Texas AFT
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Friday, May 23, 2025
Texas AFT members gather near the South Steps of the Capitol for a rally on March 10.
Ask Us Anything: Education in the 89th Legislature
This legislative session has been a rocky ride for public schools, from pre-K-12 all the way through higher education. Texas AFT members have been at the Capitol advocating for their students and their profession, while even more have been calling and emailing their representatives.
But you could have a Ph.D. in Texas legislative politics and still not be able to keep up with the thousands of bills filed, the twisting paths those bills take, and all the last-minute drama and derailments.
We’re here to help. What questions do you have about this session, bills on the move, and what it all means for Texas public schools, colleges, and universities? Let us know!
Submit your question(s) here through our online form.We’ll use your questions to guide our upcoming newsletters, social media content, and member updates. But also, please provide contact information so we can follow up with you directly.
This week, the Texas Senate advanced its version of House Bill 2, the marquee school finance proposal of the 89th Legislature. The original version of HB 2, passed by the Texas House earlier this month, included a $395 per-student increase to the basic allotment, along with new investments in bilingual education, fine arts, and full-daypre-K programs. That funding, while not enough to make up for years of underinvestment and inflation, offered a better starting point than the Senate’s original plan — which proposed no increase to the basic allotment.
The committee substitute, the result of negotiations between the House and Senate, is an improvement on its original version and includes several provisions that our members have advocated for all session therefore we call on members of the Texas House of Representatives to concur on Senate changes to House Bill 2, despite lingering concerns.
Key Highlights of the New HB 2:
$4.2 billion in teacher and staff pay raises
$500 million ina new allotment for support staff, paraprofessionals, and other non-classroom employees
$1.3 billion in a new “Allotment for Basic Costs” (ABC) to help districts manage insurance, utilities, and retirement costs
$2.2 billion in funding for early literacy, and career and technical education (CTE)
$850 million dedicated to special education investments and student evaluation reimbursements
$200 million for charter school facilities funding (which Texas AFT continues to oppose)
With only 10 days left in the legislative session, lawmakers are scrambling to get their bills across the finish line (for better or worse). Several bills are speeding their way to meet deadlines—in some cases even skipping traditional legislative processes to do so:
A big betrayal:As AFT President Randi Weingarten writes in her latest column for The New York Times, President Donald Trump said he wanted Congress to load his legislative agenda into “one big, beautiful bill.” They heeded his call — and the result is ugly. The “big, beautiful bill” would make millions of Americans sicker and poorer, especially our kids. Less food. Less housing. Less education. All to pay for tax breaks for the rich. Read the column here.
Money-starved schools. School employee layoffs. Student program cuts. Educators heading for the exits.
That’s the reality right now for Texas public schools and the 5 million+ kids they serve. And that’s the backdrop for the 89th Legislature.
Join Texas AFT for a special May Day edition of our livestream legislative updates as we report back to you what’s happening at the Capitol, what it means for your school, and what you can do to advocate for yourself, your kids, and your community.
If the federal budget currently moving through Congress passes, Texas families, hospitals, and public schools could be left holding the bag again.
House Republicans’ budget plan, backed by President Donald Trump, proposes over $1.5 trillion in cuts to vital safety net programs like Medicaid to pay for massive tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. These cuts would threaten health coverage for up to 70 million Americans, including 36% of all Texas children, 48% of Texas births, and 61% of nursing home residents in Texas.
Texas schools are also on the chopping block. Medicaid provides around $7.5 billion annually to K-12 education nationwide, helping fund school nurses, physical therapy, mental health services, and special education support. If federal funding shrinks, Texas school districts, which are already stretched thin, may be forced to reduce services for students with disabilities, especially in rural and underserved areas.
On May 22, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 4-4 split decision in the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond case, effectively blocking the creation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School – the nation’s first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case, leaving the court evenly divided and preventing a disturbing national precedent.
At issue was whether a religious institution could operate a publicly funded charter school. Supporters claimed exclusion was discriminatory; opponents argued it breached the First Amendment’s separation of church and state. The deadlock lets stand the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling that such a school would violate both state and federal constitutional protections requiring public schools to remain secular.
Education news from around the state and nation that’s worth your time.
📖 Education Department backlog leaves nearly 2 million student loan borrowers in limbo.Nearly 2 million federal student loan borrowers who’ve requested to be in an affordable repayment plan are stuck in a backlog of applications, waiting to be approved or denied, according to new data recently shared by the U.S. Department of Education. (NBC DFW, May 20)
📖 The Lege’s ‘Big Government Intrusion’ into University Academics. Expanding on last session’s anti-DEI campus crackdown, some Republicans in the Legislature are now going after gender and ethnic studies programs and faculty independence. (Texas Observer, April 24)
🎧 The Shocking Billionaire Plot to Dismantle Public Education. Texas is on the verge of passing a law that could defund public education. Vouchers send public taxpayer dollars to private schools. It could cost taxpayers $10 billion by 2030. And it could destroy Friday Night Lights. (More Perfect Union, April 22)
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