On Wednesday, April 16, 2025, the House conducted a floor debate on HB 2 relating to school finance.
House Public Education Committee Chair Brad Buckley laid out the $7.7 billion bill describing it as “landmark funding for Texas public schools.”
Buckley offered an amendment (that was adopted) that restores current hold harmless provisions and made other changes in response to concerns expressed by small districts. An amendment to Buckley’s amendment offered by Committee Vice Chair Diego Bernal was adopted that clarified language related to compensatory education funding. Another minor “perfecting amendment” by Buckley was adopted that further corrected language in the bill.
Other amendments that were “acceptable to the author” (Buckley) that were adopted include:
- Amendment by Ken King (equalization amendment for local districts)
- Amendment by Senfronia Thompson (abolishes the Collaborative Task Force Mental Health Services in 2031 rather than 2025)
- Amendment by Ryan Guillen (removed recapture as a factor used in determining whether districts have appropriate asset-to-liability ratio)
- Amendment by Mary Gonzalez (information on community-based supports and residential options)
HB 2 passed on a vote of 144-4 and will now go to the Senate for consideration.
