The latest school finance news from The Texas Tribune.
In a letter sent to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Thursday, nearly 1,500 local school superintendents and trustees urged the head of the Senate to support the House's primary piece of school finance legislation, House Bill 21. Full Story
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With a little more than a week left for this special session of the Texas Legislature, lawmakers are preparing closing arguments — and obituaries — for their pet issues. Full Story
Senate Education Committee Chairman Larry Taylor said he would not accept the House's proposal to put $1.8 billion into public schools, comparing it to driving a broken car into the ground. Full Story
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The Texas House voted to approve a package of bills that would put $1.8 billion into public schools, increase funding for certain student groups and help out struggling small, rural schools. Full Story
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An eye-opening proposal to kill the local school property tax in order to force Texas lawmakers to build a new school finance system won unanimous approval Thursday from the House's tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Full Story
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The House and the Senate are figuring out whether they can compromise on exactly how to put $212 million into an underfunded health insurance program for retired teachers. Teachers say they'll take their frustration to the polls. Full Story
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Texas legislators would love to lower your property taxes, but none of the proposals they're considering in the special session would do that. Full Story
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The Texas House voted Tuesday to use $212 million from the Rainy Day Fund, a savings account largely fed by oil and gas production taxes, to decrease premiums and deductibles for retired teachers in the state-run health insurance program. Full Story
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The Texas Senate passed a bill that would provide funding for teacher bonuses and retirement benefits, slashing a controversial provision that would require school districts to increase teacher salaries without additional state money. Full Story
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The Texas Senate backed bills that would subsidize private school tuition and study the state's school finance system. Full Story
The Texas Senate Finance Committee approved a bill Saturday that would put one-time influxes of money toward the Teacher Retirement System and teacher bonuses, and require districts to fund $1,000 in teacher pay raises. Full Story
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The Texas Senate Education Committee passed a bill that would create a "private school choice" program to subsidize private school tuition for kids with special needs, and a bill to study the school finance system. Full Story
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In what seems to be an overture to the House, Gov. Greg Abbott added two new education-related issues to his special session call Thursday: school finance reform and increased benefits for retired teachers. Full Story
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The day before the start of this summer's special legislative session, educator groups rallied at the Texas Capitol, demanding more state resources and fewer unfunded mandates. Full Story
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Days before the special session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick rolled out a specific plan to give retired and long-term teachers up to $1,000 in additional bonuses, using money from the Texas Lottery over the long-term. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott's special session agenda will include a call for a $1,000 pay raise for teachers. But he's not offering state money to pay for it — and he's not necessarily talking about giving every public school teacher a $1,000 check, either. Full Story
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Rep. Dan Huberty, chair of the House Public Education Committee, said he plans to file a bill during the special session to reform school finance — and to continue to reject "private school choice." Full Story
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Speaking to hundreds of educators ahead of a special session packed with education bills, House Speaker Joe Straus chastised the Senate for underfunding school finance reform. Full Story
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Superintendents in hundreds of Texas school districts rely on a pot of state funds that expires in September. Without drastic cost-saving measures, some districts are worried they may have to shut down. Full Story
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Senate Education Chairman Larry Taylor on Wednesday afternoon said that he would not appoint conferees to negotiate with the House on a proposed school finance overhaul. “That deal is dead,” he said. Full Story
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