House’s ‘Texas Two Step’ Plan Proposes Over $9 Billion in New Classroom Funding & $1 Billion ESA Program

AUSTIN, Texas — Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows today applauded the filing of the House’s priority education measures, anchored by Representative Brad Buckley’s House Bill 2 and House Bill 3—collectively known as the “Texas Two Step” proposal for school finance and education opportunity. HB 2 alone delivers a record over $7.6 billion investment in public schools. When combined with other priority education proposals, the House has put forth a legislative package totaling over $9 billion in new funding for public education in Texas. In addition, $1 billion is provided for the creation of a universal Education Savings Account (ESA) program through House Bill 3.

“The Texas House is preparing to transform education in our state this session with our two step proposal to provide a historic investment in classrooms while expanding educational opportunity for Texas parents and students,” said Speaker Burrows. “I believe the Texas House is fully prepared to fund public education while acknowledging one size does not fit all—one without the other would leave Texas short. This session, the House will lead from the front by passing a series of sweeping reforms to improve our education system for Texas students, teachers, and parents. I appreciate Chairman Buckley’s leadership on this issue, and all priority bill authors for their dedication to Texas’ schoolchildren.”

The House’s signature “Texas Two-Step” proposal will be supported by House Bill 4 (Buckley), which aims to repeal the STAAR test and restore the A-F Accountability System, House Bill 6 (Leach) to empower teachers with greater authority over classroom conduct, House Bill 100 (Leo Wilson) to ensure high-quality instructional materials in all Texas classrooms, and House Bill 123 (Dutton) to bolster early literacy and mathematics intervention. The full suite of education priority bills works together to infuse over $9 billion into Texas’ public education system, in addition to the $1 billion for more parent options with ESAs.

Highlights of the Texas House’s Education Proposals:

House Bill 2 (Buckley) – The Omnibus School Finance Bill

• Provides an over $7.6 billion investment into Texas public education, the largest in state history
• Increases the basic allotment by $220 per student, with 40% dedicated to teacher pay raises, including higher pay raises for rural teachers
• Offers more of Texas’ best educators a pathway to earning six-figure salaries by expanding the Teacher Incentive Allotment
• Provides stronger professional teacher preparation and mentorship, ensuring new teachers enter the classroom fully prepared
• Includes key recommendations from the Texas Special Education Funding Commission to improve funding for special education in public schools
• Institutes free Pre-K for children with disabilities, along with full-day Pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds attending school at a participating Pre-K partnership

House Bill 3 (Buckley) – Education Savings Accounts

• Complements House Bill 2 by offering Texas families a universal school choice program
• Invests $1 billion toward education savings accounts that prioritize students from low- income households and student who have a disability
• Provides Texas families an ESA with over $10,000 per student, with special education students receiving their full state entitlement
• Allows families to rollover unused funds to save for future expenses while encouraging participants to save their funds for necessary and future expenses
• Ties the amount of money dedicated to ESAs to increases to the basic allotment, allowing the program to grow with future growth in public education funding
• Includes a funded waitlist mechanism to expand the program to more families if additional funds become available over the biennium

House Bill 4 (Buckley) – Repeal the STAAR Test and Restore A-F Accountability

• Repeals the STAAR exam and adopts a new state assessment to be administered in portions throughout the school year, reducing testing anxiety and allowing teachers to get a timely snapshot of student progress
• Restores Texas’ A-F Accountability System, so that once again, parents will be able to see how well their student’s school is performing

House Bill 6 (Leach) – Teachers’ Bill of Rights

• Implements the Teachers’ Bill of Rights that empowers teachers have better control of their classroom environment
• Expands disciplinary authority and permissible actions in addressing student conduct that disrupts learning and endangers other students
• Encourages more teachers to enter and remain in the teaching profession by promoting respect for educators

House Bill 100 (Leo Wilson) High-Quality Instruction Materials

• Expands upon House Bill 1605 from the previous legislative session by ensuring high- quality instructional materials are in all Texas classrooms
• Prohibits a school district from purchasing instructional materials that the State Board of Education reviews and puts on a “rejected” list

House Bill 123 (Dutton) – Early Literacy and Mathematics

• Improves the early literacy and mathematics progress monitoring and intervention requirements to ensure student are not falling behind
• Expands the Additional Days School Year program to extend the school year into summer for students who need additional instruction
• Provides a one-time $750 allocation for parents to purchase tutoring services if their child does not pass the reading assessment in 3rd grade
• Strengthens reading and mathematics academies in Texas
• Offers a district a funding increase for meeting intervention requirements