School Funding
A high-quality and well-funded public education system is essential to help every child to reach their full potential. Texas ranks in the bottom 10 states in per-student funding. Investing in public schools should be a priority every legislative session. Raise Your Hand Texas supports an equitable school finance system that, at the very least, funds Texas students at the national average.
Texas is currently $4,000 behind the national average in per-pupil spending, and the basic allotment for our spending has not increased since 2019. With double-digit inflation, this means our education dollars do not go as far as they used to, and it is time to push the Texas Legislature for an inflationary adjustment to the basic allotment. An increase to the basic allotment will allow our school districts to maintain their facilities, invest in innovation, and guarantee raises for teachers and staff every year.
Increasing public school funding in Texas is a sure-fire way to ensure our students have the education to keep Texas among the leading economies in the nation. When we invest in our public schools, we invest in our future.
Where We Stand
2023 School Funding Legislative Priorities
The $19 billion Texas public schools received in federal stimulus funds expire in 2024, and our current school finance formulas are not flexible enough to meet the ongoing instructional demands or inflationary cost pressures. Texas lawmakers will have a substantial amount of funding this legislative session – over $27 billion in additional general revenue and over $13.6 billion in our state’s Rainy Day Fund. Investing in public school students should be a priority every session, because the future of Texas depends on well-funded public schools.
