With more money in the bank than most states — and even some nations — Texas lawmakers are at a standstill over school funding. The political tug-of-war between the Texas House and Senate over House Bill 2 (HB 2) and public education financing is barreling toward critical legislative deadlines. If no agreement is reached soon, Texas public schools may face even more severe financial shortfalls for the 2026-27 budget cycle.
Unprecedented Surplus, Unyielding Gridlock
As Texas AFT President Zeph Capo pointed out in a statement this week, Texas is sitting on a $23.8 billion budget surplus and an additional $23.4 billion in its Economic Stabilization Fund — commonly known as the “Rainy Day Fund.” The House passed HB 2 weeks ago, but the Senate, led by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, only this week set HB 2 for a hearing after it substantially changed the bill.
In our Organizing Texas call last night, we laid out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the only public school funding vehicle left standing. Below are the big pieces we want all public school employees and parents to be aware of.
Teacher Incentive Allotment & National Board Certification Changes
Both versions of HB 2 introduce a new ‘Acknowledged’ designation to the pay-for-performance Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), joining the ranks of master, exemplary, and recognized categories.
Both versions also put National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) (previously in the recognized category) in this new lower-level category, with the Senate version now requiring the State Board for Educator Certification to re-authorize or revoke NBCT status.
This “acknowledged” designation is aimed at early-career teachers who demonstrate promise in the classroom, with the hope of increasing retention and rewarding growth. Texas AFT continues to stand against tying educator pay to state tests and student performance.
Both versions of the bill would raise TIA incentive amounts across the board:
- Master Teachers: Up to $36,000 (previously $32,000)
- Exemplary Teachers: Up to $25,000 (previously $18,000)
- Recognized Teachers: Up to $15,000 (previously $9,000)
- Acknowledged Teachers: Up to $9,000
Uncertified Teachers
One of the more ambitious components of the Senate’s rewrite of HB 2 is its mandate to phase out the use of uncertified teachers by 2030. While the aim is to professionalize the workforce and ensure that all Texas students receive quality instruction, there are concerns about how rural and under-resourced districts will meet these standards when Texas teachers are still not offered a competitive base pay that is commensurate with private sector jobs requiring similar skills. The new version of the bill also mandates parent notification if a child is being taught by an uncertified teacher, a measure meant to inform parents and improve accountability, but which could also put additional strain on already overburdened districts that are not receiving the basic allotment funding needed just to keep up with inflation.
Special Education Funding
The rewrite of HB 2 earmarks $1.3 billion for special education, with a new intensity of services model and $1,000 evaluation reimbursements for every special education assessment. While this boost is promising, Texas AFT remains committed to pushing for further guarantees that these funds reach the students and families who need them most— especially in rural and high-poverty areas.
Teacher Pay Raises (& We Do Mean Just Teachers)
The new bill also provides what author Sen. Brandon Creighton calls permanent pay increases for teachers.
Structuring these incentives based on experience and enrollment is well-intentioned, we believe, but creates equity issues, nonetheless. As it is written, the Senate’s bill would penalize teachers in large urban and suburban districts, raising their pay less than teachers in smaller but wealthier districts – and teachers in most charter schools, as this data map from Our Schools Our Democracy shows.
The other problem here is that to provide these retention incentives for teachers, the Senate has reduced the already meager basic allotment increase from the House version ($395 per student) to just $55 per student. The Senate version claims the state will be providing an increase to the basic allotment, but even that meager $55 increase would actually come from local taxpayers through the changes in the golden pennies mechanism, allowing wealthier districts to keep more recapture money. The bill would increase inequity among our public schools since there is no recapture on golden pennies, which means wealthier districts get more.
The bill leaves out delineated raises for support staff (who are half of the employees on school campuses) and neglects to provide any raises for counselors, nurses, and librarians. As passed, the House had increased the amount of a basic allotment increase that had to go toward employee compensation, guaranteeing some pay increase for all non-administrative personnel.
Charter School Giveaways: Expanding Privilege While Public Schools Wait
While Texas public schools continue to struggle with underfunding and rising costs, HB 2 carves out significant advantages for charter schools. The bill allocates a staggering $255 million in new funding specifically for charter school facility improvements — funding that public school districts must often fight tooth and nail to secure. Notably, HB 2 does not require that charter schools provide the teacher retention allotments to teachers. In other, words, charter schools will collect state funds intended for teachers, but they can spend that money in any way they choose.
Meanwhile, the instructional facilities allotment for public school districts that serve 93% of Texas students has fallen 67% in 11 years from $633 million per year to just $208 million in 2023-2024. The state redirecting desperately needed public funds to the charter school system that does not serve all students should act as a warning. With the passage of private school vouchers, we can expect more public funds to be redirected to yet another system that does not serve all students.
Another windfall for charters in HB 2 is the increase to the small and midsize district allotment. This loophole allows all charter schools, regardless of size, to receive more than $1,000 per student through this allotment that can be used for facilities (currently $393 million statewide just for charters). IDEA charter schools received nearly $75 million from this “small district” allotment in 2023-24 even though its enrollment exceeds 87,000 students.
The charter industry receives substantially more funding than public school districts in HB 2, but with ZERO required quality assurances like hiring more certified teachers or just paying teachers the stipends they earned,
Despite this influx of resources, charter schools are still not held to the same transparency and community oversight as their public counterparts. In 2024-2025, 52.8% of new hires in charters were uncertified; the figure was 27.6% for all other independent school districts. Why aren’t charter schools required to certify their teachers? With more public dollars funneled into privately managed charter operations, concerns are mounting over the inequitable distribution of taxpayer money — especially when Texas public schools are still waiting for an overdue increase to the basic allotment that barely covers inflation.
Texas AFT remains firm in its stance: public dollars should prioritize public schools—not unaccountable charter networks.
Ticking Clock: Legislative Deadlines Loom
According to the Deadline Action Calendar for the 89th Legislature, time is rapidly running out for meaningful action. Here are the critical deadlines we face in the next two weeks:
- May 15 (122nd Day): Last day for the House to consider secnd reading of House Bills and Joint Resolutions (HBs/HJRs). After this date, House-originated bills not voted on are effectively dead.
- May 19 (126th Day): First day the Senate can consider bills and resolutions on the same day they are posted on the Notice of Intent Calendar. This is typically when the real negotiation happens, but it’s also when the clock begins ticking louder.
- May 24 (131st Day): Last day for House committees to report Senate Bills (SBs) and Senate Joint Resolutions (SJRs). Any delay past this date effectively kills Senate-originated bills in the House.
- May 28 (135th Day): Final day for the Senate to consider bills and joint resolutions on second or third reading.
- May 29 (136th Day): Senate amendments must be distributed in the House. If HB 2 is not sent back to the House by this date, it is essentially dead.
Call to Action: Make Your Voice Heard
With deadlines fast approaching, the time for action is now. Texas AFT called upon our members to demand a hearing for HB 2, and your voices won that hearing.
The Senate Education K-16 Committee has left the bill pending. Now we need to contact our legislators! As negotiations within the Senate and between the two chambers continue, we need everyone contacting both their senator and their representative to make this bill better as the session winds down. The reality is that this bill is the last best chance for any funding increases for public schools and for school employee pay raises in this session.
On the Move: Good Bills & Bad Bills of the Week
Thursday night at midnight was the deadline for House bills to be promoted to third reading in the Texas House; Friday was the deadline for bills to be voted to engrossment (passing the first chamber). While it is always possible to revive some legislation as amendments in the waning days of the days of session, House bills that have not met this mark are effectively dead.
One bill that was caught up in this deadline was HB 2336 by Rep. Alma Allen. This bill would have given a district employee the right to present a grievance in person to the board of trustees. Sadly, it was too far down in the House’s calendar order to get across the second reading finish line.
By far, the most consequential bill to come out of the House this week was HB 4, the omnibus overhaul of the statewide testing system and accountability bill. As a reminder to Hotline readers, the bill as filed was a horrifying power grab for the commissioner of education that would have severely limited districts’ ability to challenge the Texas Education Agency’s A-F ratings. The substitute bill considered and voted out of committee on April 30 could not have been more different and includes some provisions that advocates have been seeking for years:
- Moves from a state-developed, single summative test to a through-year, adopted norm-referenced test. The intent is for teachers to receive rapid feedback to inform instruction and to demonstrate growth over the year.
- Designed to be shorter than STAAR and sets testing windows, hopefully, to maximize instructional time and reduce additional local benchmark and progress monitoring.
- Reduces assessments to only those required by federal law.
- Adds optional criteria, such as student engagement and pre-K participation, that can be used to “grade” elementary and middle schools beyond the assessment.
- Requires strict commissioner adherence for standards setting, and major changes to A-F would require the approval of the Legislature.
- Provides for an expedited process for resolving legal challenges to the accountability system.
There was broad bipartisan support for this bill on the floor, and with a 143-1 vote, this is the momentum it needs as it travels to the Senate where it has been referred to the Senate Education K-16 Committee.
In a disappointing blow, HB 1573, which would have required districts to adopt a policy on custodian workloads, failed to pass the House on second reading. Not willing to accept the initial vote of 60-65, Rep. Venton Jones pushed for a reconsideration the following day; unfortunately, the bill was called early in the day, and many members were not yet on the floor, so the vote failed again. Texas AFT appreciates the time and energy Rep. Jones put into this Educator’s Bill of Rights priority.
In a formal meeting early Friday, the House Public Education committee voted out SB 12 (8-4) on party lines. This bill pushes down to K-12 all the harmful aspects of SB 17 (88R) which directly challenged diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) structures and practices in Texas public higher education. The bill seems targeted directly and unashamedly at marginalized students and those in the schools who would acknowledge their struggles and seek to help them.
- Reiterates parents’ ability and rights to choose educational setting for their child (read vouchers)
- School districts must make parents aware of their rights to withhold consent for certain educational practices
- Students may apply to transfer between districts, but those receiving districts can exclude students with a history of discipline.
- K-12 public and charter schools cannot provide instruction, programming, or guidance regarding sexual orientation or gender identity (“Don’t Say Gay”)
- Requires that public schools certify their compliance with censorship laws, including from 2021, locally and to TEA each year
The language of the bill is overly broad and vague and that is likely the intent. The lack of specific directive is exactly what creates a chilling effect in classrooms. Teachers are so fearful of running afoul of anything that could be perceived as noncompliance that they over comply when it is not necessary to do so. In multiple sections of the bill, districts are directed to adopt a discipline policy, to include termination, for violations of the bill. It is important to note that SB 12 will not apply to private schools accepting taxpayer-funded vouchers.
Texas AFT stridently opposes SB 12 and is working in coalition with many organizations to mitigate the harmful effect this would have on Texas schools and students.