Senate Education Committee Votes Out Its Version of CSHB 2 | May 20, 2025

The Senate Education K-16 Committee on Monday, May 19, reported out favorably its committee substitute for House Bill 2, which directs $8 billion in additional funding for public schools, but only a $55 increase in the basic allotment, which hasn't been increased since 2019. 

While Committee Chair Brandon Creighton has boasted that this is a historic investment in public schools, it also represents the first significant increase in public school funding in six years. 

As passed by the House, the basic allotment would have been increased by $395, with 40% of the increased earmarked for compensation increases for teachers, but providing the flexibility to increase pay for support staff, as well. The Senate's version allots $4.2 billion for a compensation increase, for classroom teachers only (not librarians, nurses, cafeteria employees, paraprofessionals, or any other category of employee), in the amount of $2,500 for teachers with 3-4 years of experience and $5,500 for those with five or more years of experience. The bill does not take into account the other costs – such as retirement and benefits – associated with increasing compensation. In Keller ISD, the $55 increase in the basic allotment would likely not be enough to cover those additional costs, resulting in a net loss for districts.

The Senate's version of the bill does also not address inflationary increases in fixed costs – like fuel, electricity, and insurance – that have been among the greatest burdens on school districts over the past several years. 

The bill will now go to the full Senate for consideration. If the Senate approves the committee substitute, it would return to the House who could concur with the changes or send it to a conference committee to iron out the differences between the House's version and the Senate's version. 

There is still time to reach out to your representatives and advocate for fully funding Texas public education. 

Click here to visit Keller ISD's advocacy page to send a message to the Texas Senate, and click here to look up contact information for your representatives. 

The education committees of both chambers are set to meet Monday, May 20, to consider bills that may impact public schools. Among the key bills being considered by the Senate Education K-16 Committee are: 

HB 121, which would add to the types of peace officers that may be commissioned by state entities, including a new type of officer commissioned by TEA; require school boards to reevaluate good cause exceptions to portions of school safety laws, including requirements for armed security officers and facilities, every five years, at which time the board must reevaluate whether the district can comply and, if not, renew the exemption; and require TEA to report to the legislature a report on vulnerability assessments and intruder detection audits; 

HB 1178, which would require the State Board for Educator Certification to establish a temporary teaching certificate for educators certified in other states who apply for one in Texas, and would repeal current law requiring SBEC to issue a certificate to educators certified in other states;

HB 1481, which would require districts and charter schools to adopt policies prohibiting student use of personal communications devices – like tablets, smart watches, and mobile phones – during instructional time, making accommodations for the use of devices aligning with a student’s Individualized Education Program; 

HB 2310, which would require TEA, in collaboration with the Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Workforce Commission, to develop and implement a strategic plan to improve early learning and educational opportunities for young children with disabilities or developmental delays;

HB 2674, which would prohibit TEA, SBOE, or any other educational institution from increasing regulation of home schools; and

HB 5515, which would require instructional material publishers to align prices with the lowest offered in the country, prohibits inflated shipping charges, and enforces quality and factual accuracy standards. 

Key bills set to be considered by the House Public Education Committee include: 

SB 204, which would require school board trustees to take training on parental rights created by the SBOE and would also require TEA to create and post online a handbook on parental rights;

SB 747, which relates to bullying and cyberbullying in public schools, particularly focusing on incidents involving the production or distribution of intimate visual material, including those created using AI, and would mandate the development of comprehensive policies and educational programs to prevent and respond to such incidents, emphasizing student awareness, reporting mechanisms, and the legal and social consequences of these actions;

SB 875, which would create a class A misdemeanor for superintendents and trustees who engage in electioneering to include use of district email/phone, district mailing lists, or meetings organized by or held at the district, carrying a punishment of a fine up to $4,000 and/or up to a year in jail; and also create a class B misdemeanor for the chief administrator of a campus if they knowingly permit the posting of political signs on the premises for longer than 48 hours during any time other than early voting or election day if the site is being used for voting, punishable by a fine up to $2,000 and/or up to 180 days in jail;

SB 1207, which would require the State Board of Education to include information related to adoption in the parenting and paternity awareness program currently required in the high school health curriculum;

SB 1396, which would prohibit the State Board of Education from adopting standards derived from national standards and prohibits districts from selecting human sexuality curriculum materials based on these standards;

SB 2392, which would expand the list of conduct for which reporting is required to include misconduct related to sexual coercion, human trafficking, obscenity, and child pornography, among others; and

SB 2540, which would require an agreement between two school districts to adjust a common boundary to include any terms that will continue to apply to the real property following transfer.