The Texas House Thursday approved a bill designed to inject over a billion dollars into public schools and simplify complicated funding formulas.
As The Texas Tribune reports, State Rep. Dan Huberty succeeded at a difficult task Wednesday: getting the Texas House of Representatives to vote for legislation overhauling the funding system for public education, without a court mandate.
The House voted 132-15 in favor of the plan, which in addition to injecting $1.6 billion into public schools, simplifies the complex formulas for allocating that money and targets certain disadvantaged student groups for more funding.
Huberty's bill would increase the base per-student funding the state gives to school districts, in part by increasing funding for students who are bilingual and dyslexic. The Legislative Budget Board estimates about 96 percent of districts and 98 percent of students would see more money under the bill.
The tentative victory follows Senate approval of a budget that cuts public school funding by $1.8 billion in general revenue, using local property tax revenue to make up the difference.
