Texas districts are reliant on the legislature for increases to funding.

The issue that Texas faces in school finance is one primarily of adequacy.²³ According to a recent report by the Albert Shanker Institute, University of Miami, and Rutgers University, Texas ranks in the bottom 10 states for funding adequacy – 90% of Texas students attend an underfunded school.²⁴ The most severely underfunded districts are more likely to have lower accountability ratings.²⁵ Districts are somewhat constrained by how much they can and cannot earn in revenue as the Legislature controls the school funding formula.

Per-pupil funding hasn’t been meaningfully and sustainably increased since 2019, just prior to the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic completely disrupted the education system, causing costs in labor and overhead to skyrocket and generating new costs for school safety, healthcare, and learning loss recovery. Districts quickly utilized the influx of cash from the federal relief dollars, but those funds have since expired. Analysis by school finance experts suggest that Texas is one of fifteen states who will be impacted most by the “fiscal cliff” due to our large number of high-poverty districts.²⁶

Texas is economically prosperous.

This year, the Comptroller is projecting another $18 billion in surplus revenue,²⁷ showing no signs of slowing down. Texas has one of the best economies in the world²⁸ – there is truly no reason to not invest in our education system to prepare our students for life and work in this prosperous state.

Areas in the highest-need of funding are well-documented, providing the best “bang for your buck.”

Aside from a boost in overall funding, which would be best accomplished through an increase in the basic allotment, the highest-need areas for prioritization have been thoroughly researched and reported on:

• Teacher Workforce: Create a Residency Program Allotment to support high-quality teacher preparation. Increase and expand the Teacher Incentive Allotment.
• Special Education: According to the 2022 Texas Commission on Special Education Funding, there is nearly a $2 billion funding gap for providing special education services.²⁹ Restructure the special education funding formula to a tiered,  intensity-based system.
• School Safety: Last session, the legislature provided $15,000 per campus and $10 per student to meet new school safety mandates. This is not enough funding to comply with the law.³⁰ Increase funding and provide additional support for mental health services.
• Early Education: This allotment funds programs and activities to improve early education outcomes, such as half- or full-day Pre-K, professional development, instructional coaches, and literacy screening and intervention.³¹ Expand the allotment to include enrolled PreK 3 and 4 students to generate more funding. 
• State Compensatory Education: The state provides compensatory education funding for educationally disadvantaged students or students at risk of dropping out, thereby helping to close the achievement gap and promote equity across the state.³² Increase the weights to provide more funding for successful learning intervention strategies, such as instructional coaches, high-impact tutoring, accelerated instruction, attendance officers, behavioral specialists, and more.