The bill would add an additional designation level to the teacher incentive allotment (TIA) and would change the designation of nationally board-certified teachers. The bill would also direct the commissioner to designate schools as enhanced teacher incentive allotment schools and expand the technical assistance duties of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) related to implementation of local optional teacher designation systems.
The bill would establish the local optional teacher designation system grant program. From funds appropriated or available, TEA would develop and administer a grant program with money and technical assistance for districts and open-enrollment charter schools to expand implementation of local optional teacher designation systems and increase the number of teachers eligible for a designation. Grants that would be awarded under this section would be required to meet the needs of individual school districts and enable regional leadership capacity.
The bill would require TEA to provide resources, including liability insurance, for classroom teachers. From funds appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, the agency would be required to contract with a third party to provide services for a classroom teacher employed under a probationary, continuing, or term contract.
The bill would entitle school district employees to salary deductions for fees to an entity providing liability insurance.
The bill would add an additional weight for enhanced teacher incentive allotment schools and, beginning in fiscal year 2027, the bill would increase the Foundation School Program (FSP) allotments and rural and high needs factors for TIA.
The bill would establish a teacher retention allotment, which would provide additional funding for classroom teacher compensation based on teaching experience and district size.
The bill would create the Support Staff Retention Allotment which would provide school districts with an additional annual allotment of $45 per student in adjusted average daily attendance (AADA), which would be determined by dividing the sum of a district's allotments under Education Code, Subchapter B, Chapter 48, and Section 48.101 by the Basic Allotment, excluding students who do not reside in the district and are enrolled in a full-time virtual education program. For the 2025-26 school year, a district would be required to use money received under this subsection to provide salary increases to non-administrative staff not eligible for the Teacher Retention Allotment. In subsequent years, a district would be required to use money received under this subsection to maintain salary increases. Any remaining funds could only be used for compensation of non-administrative staff not eligible for the Teacher Retention Allotment.
The bill would provide additional state aid to certain districts receiving an adjustment under Education Code, Section 48.257.
The bill would amend Education Code, Section 48.051, to repeal the sections that would require districts to use 30 percent of new revenue in a year in which the basic allotment is increased to provide compensation increases to full-time district employees other than administrators.
The bill would provide one-time payments for certain uncertified teachers who earn a standard certificate.
The bill would require the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) to develop rules and procedures relating to evaluating educator preparation programs (EPP) for approval and the renewal of approval, including educator literacy and mathematics achievement academies.
The bill would require the commissioner to develop and make available instructional materials for educator preparation programs and training for faculty responsible for preparing educator candidates.
The bill would require school districts to pay a teacher with zero years of experience who holds a certification under Education Code, Section 21.0412(a), a minimum salary that is greater than a teacher with equivalent experience who does not hold a certification under that section. The bill would prohibit school districts from adopting a salary schedule for teachers with five or more years of experience that differentiates minimum salaries based solely on certification.
The bill would direct school districts to provide onetime payments to certain teacher candidates for completing literacy or math academies.
The bill would establish the Preparing and Retaining Educators through Partnership (PREP) Programs to provide preservice practice opportunities for teacher candidates in a prekindergarten through grade 12 classroom through partnerships between school districts or open-enrollment charter schools and EPPs. TEA would be required to provide technical assistance and support to participating schools and EPPs.
The bill would establish the Preparing and Retaining Educators through Partnership Program Allotment for the PREP Programs. For each teacher candidate completing preservice practice hours at the district under Subchapter Q, Chapter 21, the district would be entitled to an allotment equal to the sum of a base amount ranging from $8,000 to $24,000, and an amount ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 multiplied by the high needs and rural factor, which would have a maximum value of 4.0, as determined under Subsection (c). The Texas School for the Deaf (TSD), the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI), and schools in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice would be entitled to the allotment under this section. Eligible districts with candidates for special or bilingual education certification employed in a residency position would be entitled to an additional $2,000 allotment.
The bill would repeal the Mentor Program Allotment under the FSP.
The bill would repeal Government Code, Section 825.4092(f), to allow employers to pass on surcharges to employed retirees.
The bill would require the SBEC to waive bilingual and special education certification application fees and exam fees for a candidate's first test attempt and would require SBEC to pay the vendor who administers the certification exams the fee associated with the exam for which the fee was waived.
From funds appropriated, TEA would be required to provide school districts with information and technical assistance regarding staffing models, scheduling, and teacher compensation models; programs that would encourage high school students to become teachers, including apprenticeships; and programs that school leaders may use to establish behavior expectations while positively supporting students.
The bill would direct TEA to collect certain data from public schools to address teacher retention and recruitment.
The bill would require TEA to provide certain technical assistance, and oversight, and support for the education of students with disabilities.
The bill would require the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), in collaboration with TEA and stakeholders, to develop and provide materials to certain students regarding educational residential placements.
The bill would require the commissioner to adopt rules for and develop a list of approved public or private facilities, institutions, agencies, or businesses inside or outside that state that provide services to students with disabilities in a residential or day placement program.
The bill would rename the Supplemental Special Education Services Program to Parent-Directed Services for Students Receiving Special Education Services (PDSES) and would require the agency to establish a waitlist for the program if the agency received more acceptable applications than the number that could be granted using available funding. The bill would allow for a student to receive an additional grant if the legislature were to appropriate funding in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for that purpose. The bill would entitle a regional education service center (ESC) designated to administer the PDSES program an amount up to 4.0 percent of appropriated funds.
The bill would require that each school district, instead of the commissioner and the executive commissioner of HHSC, ensure the language acquisition of deaf or hard of hearing students under the age of eight is regularly assessed. School districts would be required to report assessment data set by commissioner rule to the agency through PEIMS.
The bill would reduce the amount for which a district is required to contribute for a student admitted to TSD or TSBVI if the district is required to reduce local revenue under Education Code, Section 48.257.
Beginning in fiscal year 2027, the bill would amend the special education allotment under the FSP to provide for weighted funding based on tiers of intensity of service to be defined by the commissioner. The commissioner would be required to submit proposed weights for each tier to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) for the upcoming biennium.
Beginning in fiscal year 2027, the bill would create the Special Education Service Group Allotment under the FSP and would require the Commissioner to establish at least four service groups to determine funding for special education students under this section. For each student that receives eligible special education services, a district would be entitled to an allotment in an amount set by the legislature in the GAA for the service group for which the student receives services.
The commissioner would be required to submit proposed amounts of funding for the special education service groups to the LBB not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year.
The bill would establish the Special Education Transition Funding Allotment for fiscal year 2027. For the 2026-27 school year, the bill would require the commissioner to determine the formulas through which districts would receive special education funding through the Special Education Allotment and the Special Education Service Group Allotment. In determining the formulas for fiscal year 2027, the bill would require the commissioner to ensure that the estimated statewide increase through the Special Education Allotment and the Special Education Service Group Allotment would be approximately $250 million above what would have been provided under Section 48.102, as it existed in fiscal year 2026 but using the basic allotment amount in effect for fiscal year 2027.
The bill would increase the College, Career and Military Readiness Outcomes Bonus for special education students from $2,000 to $4,000.
The bill would increase the transportation allotment for special education students from $1.08 to $1.13 per mile or a greater amount by appropriation.
The bill would establish the Special Education Full Individual and Initial Evaluation Allotment which would provide districts with $1,000, or a greater amount by appropriation, for each student for whom the district conducts a full individual and initial evaluation (FIIE).
The bill would establish day placement program or cooperative funding under the FSP for which ESCs and local education agencies (LEAs) could receive an annual allotment for each qualifying program or cooperative of $250,000 for the first year and, for subsequent years, $100,000 plus $150,000 if at least three students are enrolled.
The bill would shift funding for regional day school programs for the deaf to the FSP.
The bill would require TEA to develop a method for evaluating the effectiveness of literacy achievement academies, including their impact on teaching practices and student literacy proficiency. School districts and charter schools would be required to provide any requested information for purposes of evaluation. The bill would require the commissioner to develop and make available reading intervention academies for teachers providing reading interventions to students who need accelerated instruction in foundational reading skills.
The bill would authorize the commissioner to establish an advisory board to assist with implementation of the reading intervention academies.
The bill would require TEA to develop a method for evaluating mathematics achievement academies to assess their effectiveness, including their impact on teaching practices and student mathematics proficiency. School districts and charter schools would be required to provide any requested information for purposes of evaluation. The bill would require the commissioner to develop and make available mathematics interventionist academies for teachers or other professionals who provide mathematics interventions to students who require targeted instruction in foundational mathematics skills.
The bill would authorize the commissioner to establish an advisory board to assist the agency with the development and implementation of mathematics interventionist academies.
The bill would establish the Additional Days School Year Planning Grant Program. From funds appropriated or available, TEA would be required to develop and administer a grant program to provide money and technical assistance for districts and open-enrollment charter schools to qualify for the Incentive for Additional Instructional Days under Education Code, Section 48.0051. School districts and open-enrollment charter schools that seek to maximize the additional instructional days incentive would be prioritized for grant awards under this program.
The bill would require the commissioner to adopt a list of reading and mathematics instruments for use in kindergarten through grade three to measure foundational literacy skills in reading development and comprehension and foundational numeracy skills in mathematics. The commissioner would be required to: update the list not less than every four years; ensure that the lists include multiple instruments for both reading and math; develop a process to allow school districts to submit instruments to the commissioner for approval; and make publicly available the criteria for evaluation and approval of an instrument.
The bill would establish an early literacy intervention program for certain at-risk students, as would be determined by the agency. The agency would be required to approve products for reading interventions and ensure at least one product is available at no or reduced cost. The commissioner would be required to adopt a list of reading and math instruments to be used by districts.
The bill would establish the Adaptive Vocabulary Pilot Program which would require TEA to develop and implement an adaptive vocabulary assessment to assess vocabulary development in students in kindergarten through third grade.
The bill would require each school district and open-enrollment charter school to ensure that by the 2030-2031 school year, all classroom teachers providing mathematics instruction in grades K-3, along with principals, assistant principals, mathematics instructional coaches, and mathematics interventionists at campuses serving those grades, must attend a teacher mathematics achievement academy. TEA would be required to assist school districts and charter schools in meeting these requirements, monitor implementation and report periodically to the legislature on progress and impact.
The bill would require the commissioner to establish and administer a program for students at or below the third grade level who meet certain criteria. TEA would be required to provide to eligible students a grant in the amount provided under Education Code, Section 48.317, to purchase from an agency-approved provider tutoring services designed to help improve the student's proficiency in reading.
The bill would require the commissioner to support and designate at least four prekindergarten intermediaries that will work with school districts and private prekindergarten providers to develop partnerships. TEA would be required to develop guidelines for successful prekindergarten partnerships.
The bill would expand eligibility for prekindergarten enrollment to include children of classroom teachers employed in the district offering the prekindergarten class.
The bill would require the agency to develop and post an annual report regarding the number of students in each district identified as having a vision disorder or other vision problem requiring vision care.
The bill would require the agency to acquire and maintain a third-party data management system to facilitate reporting of data related to the vision screening reporting.
The bill would amend resource campus designations, including by adding certain requirements related to teacher designations.
The bill would require TEA to develop and maintain a program to assist school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in adopting and using open education resource instructional materials.
The bill would expand the Incentive for Additional Instructional Days to include districts offering 30 days of half-day instruction for students in prekindergarten through eighth grade and would reduce the required minimum number of minutes of operational and instruction time from 180 to 175 instructional days. The bill would also provide a 50 percent increase to the incentive amount for districts offering at least 200 full days of instruction to students in prekindergarten through eighth grade.
The bill would require the commissioner to adjust average daily attendance (ADA) for a district that would not qualify for funding under Education Code, Section 48.005, and that provides the minimum number of operational minutes and offers up to an additional 30 days of half-day instruction consisting of reading interventions for certain students.
The bill would amend the Early Education Allotment under the FSP to provide an allotment to all students in ADA in kindergarten through third grade of 0.01 multiplied by the Basic Allotment. The bill would amend the allowable uses of funds provided under this section.
The bill would redistribute FSP funding provided under the Early Education Allotment under Education Code, Section 48.108(a-1) to provide funding for full-day prekindergarten to districts operating a full-day prekindergarten program. Any remaining funds would be distributed back to school districts through the Early Education Allotment.
The bill would establish the Early Literacy Intervention Allotment under the FSP which would provide a district with $250, or a greater amount provided by appropriation, for each enrolled student receiving certain reading interventions. Not more than 10.0 percent of students in kindergarten through third grade could generate entitlement under this allotment. The bill would exclude students eligible for the Allotment for Students with Dyslexia or Related Disorders from also receiving the Early Literacy Intervention Allotment.
The bill would entitle each student that receives a supplementary support grant under the bill to an allotment of $400, or a greater amount provided by appropriation. Beginning in fiscal year 2031, TEA would be required to reduce a district's entitlement under the FSP by the total amount of grant money received by a student under the supplementary supports grant program for each student who: fails to perform satisfactorily on the third grade reading assessment; received and used a supplementary supports grant; and was enrolled in the district from kindergarten through third grade. For each student who received and used a supplementary supports grant and is eligible to participate in a district's special education program, TEA would be required to reduce a district's entitlement by one-half of the amount of grant money received by the student.
The bill would require TEA to post on TEA's Internet website certain de-identified data, disaggregated by school district or open-enrollment charter school, high school campus, and annual cohort for the most 10 recent annual cohorts.
The bill would allow students who have graduated from high school but are enrolled in a district or charter school designated as a Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) or Rural Pathway Excellence Partnership (R-PEP) school and are completing a course of study offered through the P-TECH or R-PEP programs to enroll at no cost in a dual credit course under the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) program.
The bill would include courses under a junior ROTC program in what is considered career and technology education programs and for which a district could generate entitlement under the Career and Technology Education (CTE) Allotment under the FSP.
The bill would increase the number of subsidies students may receive for CTE certification examinations from one to two and would provide a subsidy to teachers completing certain certification examinations related to CTE instead of cybersecurity.
The bill would increase the per student amount under P-TECH from $50 per ADA to $150 per ADA.
The bill would increase the cap on the R-PEP Allotment and Outcomes Bonus under the FSP to $20.0 million in each year.
The bill would extend the allowable uses of funds under the New Instructional Facility Allotment (NIFA) and would increase the amount appropriated for NIFA from $100 million to $150 million each year.
The bill would cap Certification Examination Reimbursements provided under the FSP to $20.0 million each year; of which not more than $500,000 could be used to reimburse costs incurred from fingerprinting or criminal history record information reviews.
The bill would require the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to work with employers to enhance reporting of certain employment and earnings data.
The bill would require LEAs to annually report to TEA information relating to facility space and usage. TEA would be required to produce and make available the report for LEAs to use.
The bill would amend operational funding received by charters and would provide certain open-enrollment charter schools with an annual per ADA allotment equal to the lesser of the state average interest sinking fund tax rate imposed by school districts for the current year multiplied by the guaranteed level of state and local funds per student per cent of tax effort under Education Code, Section 46.032(a) or the Basic Allotment multiplied by 0.06. The bill would remove the $60 million cap on charter facilities funding.
The bill would amend the Basic Allotment under the FSP to include the new Guaranteed Yield Increment Adjustment that would be established under this bill for each student in ADA, not including time spent in career and technology education programs or special education programs in a setting other than a general education setting.
The bill would increase the weights for the Small and Midsized Allotment under the FSP and would exclude students enrolled in a full-time virtual program that do not reside in the district from the district's ADA under this section.
The bill would amend funding under the Bilingual Education Allotment under the FSP for districts offering approved alternative language education methods at an amount not to exceed $10 million for each biennium.
The bill would amend the School Safety Allotment under the FSP. The allotment would be increased from $10 per ADA and $15,000 per campus to $20 per ADA and $33,540 per campus and would transfer the allotment to Subchapter D.
The bill would establish the Allotment for Basic Costs under the FSP. A district would be entitled to $106 per enrolled student and could use funds under the allotment for transportation, fees related to rehiring retired teachers, insurance, payroll taxes, employee benefits and contributions, utilities, and property and casualty insurance.
The bill would set the guaranteed yield under Education Code, Section 48.202(a-1)(1) to 0.02084 multiplied by the Basic Allotment, or a greater amount provided under Education Code, Section 48.051(b).
The bill would allow certain districts to include tax revenue from a county-wide equalization tax in the calculation of Tier 2 for the purposes of entitlement under enrichment.
The bill would establish the Guaranteed Yield Increment Adjustment to be determined by the agency. The adjustment would be equal to the difference between the cost per weighted student of maintaining the gold yield at the 96th percentile of wealth per weighted student and the cost per weighted student of maintaining the gold yield at the amount set in Education Code, Section 48.202(a-1)(1). For the 2026-27 biennium, the bill would set the adjustment at $55. This amount would be added to the Basic Allotment in the first year of each biennium. Thus, the Basic Allotment under this bill would increase from $6,160 to $6,215 in fiscal year 2026.
The bill would repeal the provision that compresses Tier 2 pennies above the first eight cents of enrichment when the guaranteed yield under Education Code, Section 48.202(a-1)(2), is increased due to a basic allotment increase.
The bill would provide additional state aid for regional insurance cost differentials for school districts and open-enrollment charter schools if their central administrative office and majority of campuses are located within a first tier coastal county or catastrophe area.
The bill would establish an allotment to ensure districts receive sufficient revenue under the bill to provide for compensation increases as directed by the Teacher Retention Allotment and the Support Staff Retention Allotment.