Teacher Pay, Enrollment, Instructional Time
Declining enrollment, administrative bloat, and a limitation on instructional time continue to shape the public education in the state.
Senate Committee on Education
Texas lawmakers have significantly increased public school funding in recent sessions. Two laws are especially relevant to teacher compensation: House Bill 3 (86R, Huberty) and House Bill 2 (89R, Buckley).
House Bill 3 (86R, Huberty) overhauled school finance. It raised the statutory basic allotment from $5,140 to $6,160 per student in average daily attendance and required districts to devote at least 30 percent of their year-over-year funding gains to non-administrator full-time employee compensation. Of that amount, 75 percent was dedicated to teachers, librarians, counselors, and nurses, with priority for teachers with at least five years of experience.
The law also created the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), which helps districts reward teachers on a merit basis. Districts develop teacher designation systems to identify high-performing teachers. Their designations generate additional state funding, at least 90 percent of which must be used for teacher compensation on the campus where the designated teacher works.
House Bill 2 (89R, Buckley) made another substantial investment in public education, with specific focus on teacher pay. The bill provided $4 billion to teacher and support staff raises, of which $3.5 billion is for “permanent teacher pay raises and expanded incentive and retention allotments." The primary mechanism for the pay increase is the creation of the Teacher Retention Allotment, which provides school districts with dedicated funds for teacher compensation based upon district size and educator experience.
Read the full testimony in the link above.
