When Governor Greg Abbott announced a total of 20 items in his special session call, he included several specific education items. In response to the announcement by Governor Abbott, Speaker Joe Straus indicated the House is ready to resume that chamber’s regular session work on school finance. “The House looks forward to resuming our work on school finance and other challenges facing this state,” said Straus in his statement.
The education issues identified by Governor Abbott include:
- School choice for students with special needs
- Creating more flexibility for school administrators in hiring and retention practices
- A $1,000 pay raise for teachers
- “Texas does not need to spend more, we just need to spend smarter”
- “Pay increases can be achieved by passing laws that reprioritizes how schools spend money”
- Establishment of a commission to study school finance reform similar to the commission described in SB 2144 (L. Taylor)
- We “need to overhaul our outdated school finance system”
- “We spend too much money on bureaucracy and overhead & too little money where it is needed in the classroom”
- The Commission will work on “solutions to our failed Robin Hood program and craft serious reforms for our broken school finance system.”
During his press conference on Tuesday, Governor Abbot made several statements that provide additional insight into his interests with the various items. The June 6 HillCo update provided more information on the complete list of topics.
The Special Session will begin July 18, 2017.