From vouchers to a cellphone ban, this year’s lawmaking session brought transformative changes to Texas schools

A top priority for Abbott, Senate Bill 2 authorizes the creation of a program allowing families to use taxpayer dollars to pay for their children’s private school education — one of the largest in the nation. The bill cruised to final passage with more than a month left in the legislative session and was signed into law shortly after.

The voucher program will officially launch at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year. Almost any school-age child in Texas can apply and participate, including students already attending private schools. Up to 20% of the program’s initial $1 billion budget could flow to wealthier families who earn 500% or more of the poverty rate — roughly $160,000 or above for a family of four.

Most participating families will receive an amount equal to 85% of what public schools get for each student through state and local funding — roughly somewhere between $10,300 and $10,900 per year for each child, according to a legislative budget analysis that included financial projections for the next five years. The money will flow to families through education savings accounts, which essentially function as state-managed bank accounts. State budget experts predict that the program’s cost to taxpayers could escalate to roughly $4.8 billion by 2030.

Children with disabilities will be eligible for the same funding as other students, plus up to $30,000 in additional money, an amount based on what the state would spend on special education services for that child if they attended a public school. Home-schoolers can receive up to $2,000 per year.

— Jaden Edison

House Bill 2 represents an $8.5 billion boost to Texas public schools after years of stagnant funding.

The bill establishes the following long-term teacher pay raise system:

• Teachers with three to four years of experience in school districts with 5,000 or fewer students will receive a $4,000 raise, while those with five or more years of teaching on their resume will earn $8,000.
• Teachers with three to four years of experience in school districts with more than 5,000 students will earn a $2,500 raise, while those with five or more years of experience will receive $5,000.

The bill also includes funding for an expansion of the Teacher Incentive Allotment, a state program that awards raises to educators who demonstrate that they have improved their students’ academic outcomes. Currently about 6% of Texas teachers benefit from the program.

HB 2 provides a $55 increase to the base amount of money per student schools receive from the state, a large portion of which must continue to go toward salaries for full-time employees. The rest can address operational costs as schools see fit.

The legislation will give districts $45 per student that they can only use to increase the salaries of school counselors, librarians, nurses and other support staff. It also grants schools $106 per student to pay costs associated with transportation, insurance, utilities and hiring retired educators, which has become more common as schools struggle to fill teacher vacancies.

Additionally, the bill overhauls Texas’ special education funding system, which will no longer give money to districts based on the classroom setting where a child with a disability receives instruction. The funding will now go to districts based on the individual needs of that student, an approach lawmakers and public education advocates consider more equitable. Districts will receive $1,000 for each evaluation they conduct assessing a student for a disability.

HB 2 also establishes a compensation system for educator preparation and mentorship programs while setting a 2030 deadline for districts to stop using untrained educators to teach core subjects. The bill sets aside money for schools to better identify learning difficulties among the state’s youngest students. And it raises the amount of money districts receive for school safety upgrades to $20 per student and $33,540 per campus.

— Jaden Edison

Hopes were high that the Legislature would scrap the widely unpopular STAAR test when state Rep. Diego Bernal gave an impassioned speech on the Texas House floor last month.

“Most of us campaigned on this. And session after session, we talk about it, and we don't do it,” the San Antonio Democrat said. “We're sort of like the divorced dad that keeps promising his kid that he'll pick them up, but the kid is waiting on the steps in front of the house, and we never show up.”

Lawmakers did come close to swapping out STAAR for three shorter tests with House Bill 4, but ultimately failed to hammer out their differences in the final days of this year’s legislative session. Despite momentum and widespread bipartisan support, the session ended with the kid still waiting on the steps.

For more than a decade, Texas students have sat for hours at the end of the school year to take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test. Some students get so anxious about the high-stakes exam — which is used to track student, teacher and school performance — that they report not wanting to go to school. Educators say weeks of preparing children to take the test mean losing valuable instructional time.

The two chambers could not close the gulf over what they wanted to see out of the new test and from the state’s A-F school accountability rating system, which largely uses standardized test results to grade schools’ performance. Their biggest difference was over how much power districts should have to push back in courts when they disagree with their accountability ratings.

— Sneha Dey

As teachers struggle to manage the rise in student violence since the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas lawmakers said their solution was in giving schools more flexibility to punish students.

A sweeping package, House Bill 6 expands when schools can dole out out-of-school suspensions to Texas’ youngest and homeless students. It does this by undoing state laws from 2017 and 2019 that put limitations on when and how those students could be disciplined.

The legislation also extends how long students can face in-school suspensions — from three days to as long as schools see fit, so long as the placement is reviewed every 10 days. Students facing in-school suspension still complete schoolwork in a different classroom on school grounds.

HB 6 also wades into when schools can send students to alternative education settings, strict environments that often remove children from their regular school buildings and lean on computer-based work. While students caught vaping were previously required to go to alternative education settings, schools can now discipline those students less severely if it is their first offense. Schools can also teach students in alternative education programs remotely — a mode of instruction that was shown to contribute to learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawmakers shepherding the legislation emphasized that removing students from the classroom is a way to protect other students and allow learning to continue.

But critics of HB 6 worry more discipline won’t change the behavior of the student acting out, which can often signal underlying emotional needs. They worry heavy-handed discipline will derail students’ education at a time when they need individualized attention and mental health support.

— Sneha Dey

The Legislature’s school finance package, House Bill 2, included extra learning support for children as early as kindergarten, before learning gaps compound.

More than half of third graders in the state are not at grade level in reading or math, meaning they lack the key foundational skills they need to thrive as learners. Research shows that students who are behind in third grade rarely catch up, which can lead to serious consequences later in life.

The legislation requires districts to use literacy and numeracy screeners to identify students who are struggling early on. The screeners would allow students to be assessed three times a year between pre-K and third grade on skills like phonics, vocabulary and spelling. Those who are furthest behind would get extra tutoring in small group settings.

Currently, the state doesn’t track literacy development until the third-grade STAAR test, with two dyslexia screenings acting as the only formal checkpoints after students first enter kindergarten.

— Sneha Dey

Senate Bill 10 requires public schools under certain circumstances to display a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in each classroom. The legislation does not require districts to purchase the materials but mandates that schools accept and hang them up if they are privately donated.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights organizations have said they will sue Texas if Abbott signs SB 10 into law, just like they did when Louisiana approved a similar Ten Commandments law. Abbott responded to that threat on social media, telling the groups to “bring it.”

The Legislature also approved Senate Bill 11, a measure that will allow school districts to adopt a policy providing students and staff a daily period of prayer or time to read a religious text. The bill bans any prayer or religious reading over a loudspeaker or in the presence of any student who does not have a signed consent form.

Both bills arrive as conservative Christians continue pushing to infuse more religion into public schools and daily life. Lawmakers this session also considered Senate Bill 2617, a proposal that would have blocked districts from purchasing instructional materials that do not use the terms “Before Christ” (B.C.) and “Anno Domini” (A.D.) when referring to historical time periods, but the legislation died in a House committee.

— Jaden Edison

Texas GOP lawmakers have made parental control a central issue in public education. Legislators this session aimed to give parents greater authority over what their children are taught and which extracurricular activities they join.

A key focus was eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in K-12 schools. Lawmakers accused some schools of promoting ideological agendas in the classroom instead of prioritizing high-quality instruction. They also claimed that school districts focused too heavily on diversity hiring rather than selecting the most qualified educators.

Senate Bill 12, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, prohibits school districts from considering race, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation in hiring and training practices.

Under the bill, if parents believe a school is violating the DEI ban, they can file a complaint with the school principal. If parents are unsatisfied with the school’s response, they can appeal to the Texas education commissioner, who can investigate the complaint and conduct a hearing.

“The legislation further upholds parental authority by giving them the ability to opt their child in or out of specific programs, such as the requirement in this bill that a parent must opt in to a child's sex education curriculum, and this is so that parents can make informed choices that align with their family's values,” said Rep. Jeff Leach, a Republican from Plano and the bill’s sponsor, in May.

In addition, schools will be banned from authorizing or sponsoring student clubs based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Parents will also be required to provide written consent for their children to participate in any extracurricular club.

Critics argue that the bill targets marginalized groups, especially LGBTQ+ students, and could harm students’ mental health by limiting their sense of belonging. They also warn that the legislation may lead to self-censorship among teachers and administrators, who might over-interpret the law out of fear of violating it.

— Sofia Sorochinskaia

Lawmakers also aimed to give parents and school boards more authority over which books students can access in school libraries.

Senate Bill 13, by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, will allow parents and school boards to challenge any school library material. The bill grants school boards the authority to decide which books should be approved or removed from school libraries. They also have the option to delegate this responsibility to local school advisory councils if 50 parents or 10% of parents in the district, whichever is less, sign a petition calling for their creation.

In addition, the bill will prohibit schools from keeping library materials that contain “indecent content or profane content.”

“No child should pick up a book in their school library of all places and be exposed to inappropriate, harmful material within its pages,” Paxton said in March. “These young brains cannot unsee what they see.”

Opponents of the bill argue the legislation will lead to the banning of books that discuss topics like sexuality and gender identity, and that reflect the experiences of marginalized students. They warn that such policies could undermine representation and limit access to diverse perspectives.

Critics also point out that most Texas school districts already have processes in place for parents to challenge library books. They argue that SB 13 will promote censorship and the unnecessary removal of books from school libraries.

— Sofia Sorochinskaia

Texas will join several other states across the country in banning cellphones in schools.

House Bill 1481, introduced by Rep. Caroline Fairly, a Republican from Amarillo, aims to limit the use of “personal wireless communication devices” in K-12 classrooms. The bill received strong bipartisan support: It passed unanimously in the Senate and by a 136-10 vote in the House.

Supporters of the bill argue that cellphones distract students, hurting their focus, participation and overall academic performance. Many also hope the legislation will help reduce bullying and improve students' mental health.

The bill was authored by the only Gen Z member of the Texas House. She said she understands firsthand how harmful social media can be for students.

“When you see what is being pushed on social media and the distraction it causes in the classroom, there is a need for our government to support our educators,” she told The Texas Tribune in March.

Opponents of the bill worry it could make it harder for students to contact parents or emergency services. They also raised concerns about parents being unable to track their children’s whereabouts. To address these issues, the bill allows students to keep their phones nearby but restricts their use during the school day.

— Sofia Sorochinskaia

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