Making A Permanent Promise to Texas Children

Something isn’t adding up here in the Lone Star State. Texas is the 8th largest economy in the world. Yet, currently, Texas employers across critical sectors face severe workforce shortages, including construction, healthcare, manufacturing, energy, and technology.

Texas continues to be a destination state, with one of the highest rates of in-migration in the country. This should be a combination of facts that yields strong optimism amongst Texans about economic opportunity in our state. And yet, for too many Texas families, the Modern American Dream feels elusive, whether because of the affordability struggles that were a theme of this election or because new technologies sow uncertainty about what jobs will be available in two years, much less ten.

The ‘American Century’ most of us grew up in was fueled by the flourishing of public high schools in the United States in the 19th century — well ahead of the rest of the world. In 21st-century Texas, our public schools continue to educate 85%of our kids. We would do well to remember what our forebears knew so well: high-quality public schools are indivisible from the accessibility of the American dream. And in 2026, career and technical education (CTE) is at the heart of what makes our public schools engines of opportunity.

Thankfully, there is no lack of consensus on the importance of CTE. As the executive director of Raise Your Hand Texas, I’ve spoken with parents, business leaders, and lawmakers from across the political spectrum about the importance of workforce development and strong CTE programs. Wherever I am and whoever I am talking to, heads nod when the topic arises. The Texas Jobs Council, with its inclusion of both business and union leaders, is evidence of this consensus.

Here’s more good news: there is also no lack of ideas about how to make our CTE programs more robust. The popular Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) program, which provides grants to school districts and community colleges to buy and install what is often very expensive CTE equipment, has an ROI of 11 to 1. We should expand it. Stipends to help school districts offer specialized CTE salaries to qualified instructors would help districts compete with (though still not match) the salaries that electricians, nurses, and other skilled tradespeople often command. A dedicated staff that builds and maintains relationships between school campuses and local employers would go a long way towards making work-based learning, a goal emphasized by the federal government and supported by our own employers, a reality.

So when it comes to CTE, we don’t lack agreement or ideas. What we lack is money.

To their credit, lawmakers have made notable recent investments. Between 2019 and 2025, overall funding for the CTE allotment grew by $950 million. In the 89th session, HB 2 increased funding for Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH campuses) from $50 per student to $150 per student.  Last session also saw $15 million in additional funding for the JET program.

All of this work is laudable and important. But focusing only on isolated efforts to support CTE risks us missing the forest for the trees. Texas has not created a new public education revenue source in 20 years, while the cost of high-tech career training and K-12 education keeps rising. Our state has ranked among the bottom 10 states in the country in per-pupil funding for decades. It’s time for bolder thinking.

A new Public Education and Workforce Endowment would turn a one-time state investment into long-term, supplemental funding for public school workforce and career training, providing stable, sustainable funding for generations to come. This new funding stream would help schools confidently expand CTE capacity, upgrade vital training equipment, and offer competitive pay to attract top-tier industry professionals into the classroom. As a state with one of the strongest national and global economies, we can create the Public Education and Workforce Endowment without raising anyone’s taxes.

The state has shown that it can be a disciplined steward of endowments, like the Permanent University Fund and the Permanent School Fund. It has recently turned to endowments to support critical infrastructure needs, like the newer endowments for water and Texas State Technical College. Applying the same approach and logic to creating a Public Education and Workforce Endowment would be a permanent promise to our children, giving them the quality education and prosperous future they deserve.

It would also be popular with voters. A recent survey of likely Texas voters found that 77% favored using a $3 billion investment from the Rainy Day Fund to create a public education and workforce endowment. Texans know, in their gut, that strong public schools enable the American Dream. In the coming months, lawmakers will have an opportunity to show that they understand this truth as well.