The Texas Plan for School Finance Reform
Earlier this week the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Education, Rep. Dan Huberty, filed House Bill 3, the "Texas Plan" to provide meaningful school finance reform. I am a proud co-author of this legislation to fundamentally transform the public school finance in Texas.
The Texas Plan invests $9 billion above enrollment growth and current law entitlement toward student achievement, teacher quality and property tax reform, and will put more money into Texas classrooms than ever before. It represents the first major rewrite of the state's public school finance system undertaken without threat of a court order.
- Invests in Texas students and teachers by adding approximately $9 billion in funding above enrollment growth and current law entitlement over the next two years
- Empowers local school districts to put more money in their classrooms by raising the Basic Allotment from $5,140 to $6,030, an $890 increase per student
- Provides property tax reform by lowering school property tax rates by 4 cents statewide
- Reduces recapture from $7.7 billion to $4.7 billion for the biennium, a $3 billion or 38% reduction
- Establishes an early reading program that funds full-day, high quality Pre-K for low income students, setting the right foundation for students to be able to read at grade level by third grade
- Substantially raises the minimum teacher salary schedule and allocates an addition
- $140 million in funding for a teacher quality program, providing districts with the resources for recruiting and retaining teachers in the classroom
- Enhances the yield on the "enrichment" pennies, allowing schools to earn and keep more money for property taxes levied above the standard Tier 1 tax rate
- Creates a professional development grant program to train teachers in blended learning instruction so they can effectively combine e-learning and traditional classroom instruction
- Dedicates more money for dual language immersion education, which has proven to be more effective in producing greater achievement levels for multilingual and native English speaking students
- Equips districts with the resources needed to identify and intervene at the earliest signs of student dyslexia and related disorders
- Establishes an extended year program that allows districts to combat "summer slide" by providing 30 days of half-day instruction for students in grades PreK-5 during the summer months
- Updates the transportation funding model from a burdensome linear density model to a simplified one dollar per mile reimbursement
- Allocates resources to low-income students on a sliding scale (rather than an equal weight) to prioritize students with the highest needs, and provides more funding to schools with higher concentrations of economically disadvantaged students and generational poverty
- Quadruples the amount allocated to fast growth districts to build and equip new instructional facilities funding to $100 million per year
- Expands career and technology education programs for students in grades 6-12 (previously grades 9-12), making students more skilled and better prepared for the workforce or post-secondary education
- Establishes a grant program for districts to offer parents of economically disadvantaged students with learning disabilities in grades 3-8 access to additional services to help improve educational performance
| | Legislation for Houston's Spaceport
On Monday I presented House Bill 303 to the Committee on International Relations & Economic Development. This bill would allow Houston to create a Spaceport Development Corporation to spur the development of the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Field.
The Houston Spaceport will be used for astronaut training, zero gravity experimentation, spacecraft manufacturing, and the launching of microsatellites. | | Rep. Paul lays out House Bill 303 in committee. | | Internet Transparency Bill Passes Committee
On Wednesday, the House Committee on State Affairs voted my House Bill 305 out of committee unanimously. HB 305 will require local governments to post their contact and election information on their websites. The bill now moves to the House Committee on Calendars to be scheduled for debate on the House floor. | | Clear Lake Chamber at the Capitol
The Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce was at the Capitol on Tuesday, along with the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership and the League City Regional Chamber of Commerce. I was honored to pass House Resolution No. 634 recognizing these groups for their contributions to Bay Area Houston. | | Rep. Paul meets with Bay Area economic leaders. | | Texas Born Alive-Infant Protection Act
This week I joined several of my House and Senate colleagues at a press conference in support of the Texas Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which will protect babies born alive after a botched abortion by requiring they receive the same standard of care as any other baby that is born. | | Sen. Lois Kolkhorst speaks at the Texas Born Alive-Infant Protection Act press conference. Rep. Paul is in the background. | | A Look Ahead
A preview of next week's events.
Monday
The House of Representatives convenes at 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday
The House Committee on Insurance meets at 8:00 a.m. The House of Representatives convenes at 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday
The House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety meets at 8:00 a.m. The House of Representatives convenes at 10:00 a.m. | | How to Keep Track of Legislation To keep track of my legislation, and the legislation of other members, you can visit the Texas Legislature Online by clicking this link: www.capitol.texas.gov. | | | | | | |
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