On March 6, 2017, Dan Huberty, Chair of the House Committee on Public Education, filed HB 21 relating to the public school finance system. The bill is a $1.6 billion plan that would make formula and structural changes to the Foundation School Program (FSP).

Representative Huberty stated that HB 21 is a bipartisan effort that will prevent cuts to school funding and contains several elements that legislators feel would improve equity among Texas school districts. HB 21 would provide additional funding to all but about 50 districts in the State and would repeal several funding streams that either flow outside the Foundation School Program’s equalized system or are not fully realized by all school districts.

HB 21 would increase the Basic Allotment from $5,140 to $5,350 per student each year of the biennium by:

  • creating new transportation funding at $125 per student through the basic allotment that benefits charters and allows districts that pay recapture to fully access state transportation dollars for the first time;
  • including funding for the high school allotment in the basic allotment; and
  • including funding for additional state aid for non-professional staff.

HB 21 would lower the recapture rate by approximately:

  • $170 million in 2018, and
  • $200 million in 2019.

Additionally, districts would be entitled to an annual allotment for students with dyslexia. To help rural districts that could lose funding under the plan, HB 21 creates a transitional grant program to fund a portion of the losses over the next two years.

After weeks of debate, the House Public Education Committee voted 10-1 to approve the bill. Additionally, the Texas Senate unanimously approved a two-year budget that would shift nearly $2 billion in public education costs from the state to local taxpayers.

To follow the latest on House Bill 21, visit https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/HB21/2017.

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