The week of February 17, leaders in both the Texas Senate and the House advanced bills to support substantial improvements in student success. With strong leadership support in both chambers, Texas students and teachers will benefit from Senate Bill 26 by Chairman Brandon Creighton from Conroe and House Bill 2 by Chairman Brad Buckley from Salado.
Senate Bill 26 Invests in Recruiting & Retaining a Strong Teacher Workforce
The Texas Senate Education K-16 Committee advanced Senate Bill 26 by Chairman Creighton that would make substantial investments in increasing teacher compensation and helping improve teacher retention. The new Teacher Retention Allotment provides an important salary boost for teachers with three-to-five years of experience with an even more significant boost for those with more than five years of experience. Efforts to retain teachers are particularly needed within the first five years of their career – when data shows they are most likely to leave the profession and when their effectiveness is most likely to improve dramatically. SB 26 also proposes a significant expansion to the Teacher Incentive Allotment, which is proving to have major benefits for student growth and teacher retention. We particularly appreciate that SB 26 expands technical assistance strategies to support increased TIA participation. This is important for rural schools to have capacity to implement TIA as part of their recruitment and retention strategies.
“We applaud Lt. Governor Patrick for prioritizing teacher compensation, Chairman Creighton for his continued leadership in championing historic investments to improve outcomes for Texas students, and the Senate Education K-16 Committee members for their work in strengthening the teacher workforce,” said Ryan Franklin, managing director of policy and advocacy at Philanthropy Advocates. “We are grateful to Chairman Creighton for his commitment to advance additional proposals that would expand high-quality, effective educator preparation models. We look forward to working with him to ensure all Texas students are in classrooms with well-trained teachers.”
House Bill 2 Invests in Proven Strategies to Support Student Learning
The week of February 17 also saw Chairman Buckley file House Bill 2, which addresses urgent issues where our students need additional support to succeed. HB 2 would make historic investments in public education by increasing the basic allotment as well as targeted funding for our most at-risk students and rural students. HB 2 invests in students from early education up to their postsecondary and career opportunities, with investments in prekindergarten partnership models to ensure more students can access high-quality early learning opportunities and dedicated funding for advising in high school.
House Bill 2 also provides critical funding to modernize our educator workforce. Through increased teacher salaries and a major expansion of the Teacher Incentive Allotment, HB 2 also prioritizes retaining and supporting our current teachers. With over half of first-time teachers entering the profession with no training and high attrition rates in recent years, HB 2 creates a path for aspiring teachers to be rewarded for pursuing hands-on training through rigorous teacher preparation programs.
“Through House Bill 2, Speaker Burrows and Chairman Buckley are prioritizing policies that will ensure the teaching profession is attractive to future teachers and effective for students,” said Ryan Franklin, managing director of policy and advocacy at Philanthropy Advocates. “By providing incentives for hands-on teacher preparation for new teachers and increasing compensation and support, HB 2 creates a comprehensive framework to provide the teacher workforce our students deserve.”
Students Earn When They Learn, and They Learn Best When They Have Well-Prepared Teachers
Equipping students to compete for jobs of the future requires a strong teacher workforce today. To ensure the teaching profession is attractive to future teachers and effective for students, Texas must enact policies addressing preparation, compensation and supports for teachers. SB 26 and HB 2 are pivotal steps made by the state this week in a comprehensive approach.
Philanthropy Advocates is eager to continue our work with leaders and members of the Texas House, Senate, and Governor Abbott this session to ensure that students have access to high-quality education systems that enable them to pursue their dreams and that equip them for economic mobility and lifelong success.
