HB 1 agreement

The House and Senate are expected to take a final vote on HB 1, the state budget, on Saturday. At over 900 pages, there is a great deal of complexity in the budget document, but we can provide a little more information about what legislators will be considering as they take action:

• As has been widely publicized, state funding for public education under this proposal will fall about $4 billion short of what would be needed to continue funding current services for the next two years.
• The Student Success Initiative will see a dramatic decrease from $152 million/year to under $12 million/year. $2.25 million of that $12 million is dedicated to the Reasoning Mind program, leaving $10 million/year to fund programs to include algebra readiness, literacy and math academies, professional development, middle grades initiatives, and more. By law, the commissioner of education must certify to the legislature each biennium that SSI appropriations are adequate in order for the prohibition against social promotion in grades 5 and 8 to apply. With funding at less than 10% of previous levels, it is entirely possible that Commissioner Scott will refuse to certify, which means that social promotion would not be prohibited during the biennium.
• The total appropriation for the overall category of “statewide educational programs” is reduced from $474 million/year to $112.7 million/year. This category includes early childhood, tech prep, and LEP summer school programs. It appears that the prekindergarten expansion grants, previously at more than $100 million/year, were zero-funded. (Please note that only the discretionary grant program, not the required prekindergarten program, was eliminated.)
• The Texas Education Agency staff is whittled down to 795 employees, from over 1,000 in the previous budget. Belt-tightening at the agency had already reduced agency staff to around 900 employees. Commissioner Robert Scott has expressed concern about the agency’s ability to provide necessary services at this staffing level.
• Funding for regional education service centers drops from $21 million/year to $12.5 million/year. Commissioner Scott has indicated that some ESCs might be closed.
• The budget for the State Board for Educator Certification is reduced dramatically, from $11 million/year to $4.7 million/year.
• DATE funding (for teacher performance pay) was reduced from approximately $200 million/year to $20 million/year. Up to $10 million can be set aside by the commissioner of education for an educator mentor program.

More details will be made available if this budget is finally adopted and when TEA provides a comprehensive analysis of the legislature’s actions this session.