Analyses from both Raise Your Hand, Texas and Fund Schools First (a North Texas school district/business coalition) reveal that in real dollars, Texas Public Schools have $10 billion less to work with in 2025 than they had in 2019. With no increases in funding in the 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions, and the end of federal COVID and ESSER funding that filled some gaps, many Texas school districts are operating in the red, having to close schools, cut programs and put teacher pay raises on hold. During the past two legislative sessions, state leadership has held funding hostage to the passage of a private school voucher program, and there is indication that this will happen again in the current 2025 legislative session.

What needs to happen to fix this situation, so that Texas children can have the education they deserve?

1. Pass at least a $10 billion increase in funding for Texas public schools during this session, in order to get schools back to the 2019 funding level.
2. Pass a bill that will provide automatic increases to school funding every two years, based on inflation, so that Texans don’t have to beg for increases just because costs have gone up.
3. Go back to the drawing board to reform the overly complicated school finance system that has allowed a steady reduction of state funding (in real dollars) for public education since 2006.