The full House Appropriations Committee met Wednesday to hear invited testimony, including an overview of public education funding and the Foundation School Program, property tax relief, and the Teacher Retirement System. The committee received updates from the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath, and Teacher Retirement System (TRS) Executive Director Brian Guthrie, as well as other agencies not relating to education. 

Morath testified on public school funding and the TEA appropriations in House Bill (HB) 1. The discussion centered on public education funding, teacher recruitment, and school finance formulas. HB 1 earmarks: 

• $51 billion for the 2026-27 biennium to provide new tax relief and to maintain tax relief provided by the Legislature following the enactment of 2019’s House Bill 3 from 2019; 
• $400 million in contingency funding under the Foundation School Program for legislation relating to the School Safety Allotment; 
• $1 billion in contingency funding for education savings accounts (ESAs), aka vouchers; and 
• $4.85 billion in contingency funding for public education funding Increases, including $750 million for expansion of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). 

Morath also asked for: 

• $23 million for Texas Strategic Leadership Support to support regional education service center district leadership coaching teams, specialized leadership coaching teams, technical assistance, performance management data tools and processes, and Texas Leadership Academies for Public Education; 
• $2.7 million for the Santa Fe Ten Memorial to assist in the creation of a memorial that remembers and honors those who died as well as all individuals impacted by the May 18, 2018, Santa Fe High School shooting; and 
• $4 million for the Preschool-Aged Children’s Food Security Grant Program to provide a grant to Kids’ Meals to provide free, healthy meals to hungry preschool-aged children, as well as provide their families with resources to help end the cycle of poverty.  

Morath also included a few exceptional budget items, including $3.5 million per year to expand the TEA investigative team, $4.6 million per year to replace lost State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) fee revenue funding the existing investigative team because teacher certification fees are down as fewer people are becoming teachers, and $1.4 million to deploy a more effective case management software system to handle the growing volume of complaints against teachers. All together, these requests total $17.7 million for TEA’s complaints and misconduct investigations department. 

Morath was asked about the special education funding gap. He responded by saying there is a $1.7 billion annual gap in special education funding. He has a $1 budget placeholder but suggests reforming current funding mechanisms and targeting new investments so available funds better match the specific and varied costs of delivering special education services. Doing so, Morath told legislators, could require statutory changes. He also has $1 placeholders for: 

• The agency to provide funds to more districts requesting funds to ensure strong implementation of Bluebonnet Learning; 
• Teacher preparation; and  
• Strategic teacher compensation. 

Overall, the hearing revealed funding shortfalls, teacher shortages, special education gaps, and questions regarding vouchers. Legislators called for increased transparency, better teacher support, and solutions to financial disparities. Although HB 1 would increase overall education funding, the emphasis on tax relief and private school initiatives has raised concerns about the adequacy and direction of support for Texas public schools. 

Regarding TRS, Guthrie gave virtually the same presentation to the House regarding HB 1 as he did to the Senate Finance Committee on Senate (SB) 1. HB 1 allocates $450 million to TRS-ActiveCare to help keep the increase in ActiveCare premiums at or below 10%, about half of what the increase would be without funding. ATPE remains concerned about the LBB’s anticipation of higher payroll growth based on historical growth of 5% in public education given that approximately 60% of districts are facing budget deficits and many are closing schools. 

You can see the slides presented here.  

Not long after the Appropriations Committee adjourned, subcommittees were announced. Subcommittees, including the Article III Subcommittee that covers public education, higher education and TRS, will begin meeting next week. See who is on Article III here.