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Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
State of Texas: Abbott approves billions for schools, but is it enough?
AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Gov. Greg Abbott signed a school funding package into law that he believes will put Texas on the path of being ranked number one in the country for education. 'Texas is number one in so many categories. Texas should be number one in educating our children,' Abbott said before signing the bill. He spoke at a Wednesday afternoon news conference at Salado Middle School. Several young students stood behind him during the signing ceremony. 'This law will help students go from graduation directly into a good paying job right here in the Lone Star State,' Abbott said. The $8.5 billion bill, known as House Bill 2, creates new buckets of money for public schools to spend on specific initiatives. This includes $1.3 billion for an Allotment for Basic Costs — to fund insurance premiums and teacher retirement pensions — $4.2 billion for teacher pay raises, over $2.2 billion for special education, childcare and school safety and more than $800 million for rural school districts. Essential to education is high quality educators,' Abbott told the audience at the school. 'We want to be able to attract and to keep the very best teachers. Toward that goal, this law provides a record pay raise for our teachers in the state of Texas,' he continued, drawing applause from the audience. Shortly after signing the bill, the governor passed the microphone to JoMeka Gray, an elementary school teacher in Temple ISD. Gray has been named the 2025 Region 12 Elementary Teacher of the Year. 'House Bill 2 is more than just a policy. It is a promise to our teachers,' Gray said. She thanked the governor and lawmakers for their work on the legislation. 'This bill prioritizes teacher compensation and preparation as well as research-based strategies by the way of teacher reading and math academies in early literacy and numeracy, which are critical to long term academic success,' Gray added. While the bill marks one of the largest increases to education funding in state history, some school leaders say they would have preferred a larger increase to the basic allotment, the amount of funding schools receive per student. The new funds for schools are designated for specific items, like teacher pay raises, meaning they can only be used for their stated purpose. A mere increase to the basic allotment would have given schools more flexibility to use funds at their own discretion. Three school district leaders previously told KXAN that they appreciate any increase in funding, but wish the basic allotment had been increased to give them more discretion on how to use the funds based on district needs. 'It doesn't really provide the funding for the day-to-day issues that districts run across on any given day,' Dr. Alicia Noyola said. Noyola serves as Interim Superintendent of Mercedes ISD in south Texas. She worries funding under HB 2 will not be enough. 'While we will have money for a number of programs, districts will still be in a position to have to make some tough decisions,' Noyola added. Still, the funding included in the bill gives teachers a pay raise of a few thousand dollars, especially those in smaller school districts. For the districts that cannot afford to increase teacher salaries on their own, the bill provides needed relief. The bill also ties the basic allotment to increases in property values, so the figure will continue to increase even without additional legislation. The legislation was signed in the home district of State Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, the lead author of HB 2. 'There's never been a more important time to put the resources in the hands of our educators for us to be number one, and that's what we kept in mind the whole time, was, how do we how do we go about doing that?' Buckley said at the news conference. Buckley praised fellow House lawmakers for their work on the bill, as well as work in the Texas Senate, led by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe. 'I think this is a generational change for our public schools,' Creighton said. As he spoke, he turned to the children standing behind him. 'The purpose behind it, and ultimately, the end goal for these kids standing up here, behind us, and those coming soon, it will define the Texas economic miracle for generations,' Creighton said. 'It's all about them.' On the final day of the legislative session, hemp industry leaders went to the Capitol to urge Gov. Abbott to veto Senate Bill 3, which would ban all THC products in the state of Texas, including the currently legal hemp-derived THC products. 'The hemp industry is a $10 billion a year enterprise, employing over 53,000 Texans,' Mark Bordas, executive director of the Texas Hemp Business Council said at the news conference. He spoke behind stacks of boxes, packed with paper petitions urging the Governor to veto SB 3. The news conference featured hemp industry leaders from all sectors, including hemp farmer Colton Luther. While he acknowledged he will still be able to grow hemp, he said his fields are currently empty because he's uncertain of this year's demand if SB 3 goes through. 'If you take away the market that creates the demand that the farmers are upholding, What business do we have left,' Luther said. 'It is a shame that we are trying to ban these things and take away the market that these farmers depend on to sell their crop.' Hours later in the Capitol extension, concerned parents voiced their support for SB 3. The group Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas shared stories warning about the dangers posed by THC products now sold in stores. 'What began as a harmless habit, quickly spiraled into a mental health crisis,' one mother said at the podium. 'He became paranoid, delusional, and convinced the CIA and Illuminati were following him.' 'In our state, the combination of alcohol and cannabis is the most common drug combination in impaired driving crashes in our state as well. And young drivers are particularly at risk,' the group's CEO Nicole Holt said. She noted that many of those crashes kill young people. 'Those are real lives. Those deaths are someone's life ended too soon, those families will never be the same, and when there's an impaired driver on the road, we are all at risk,' Holt said. The group also invited Republican lawmaker David Lowe, a war veteran. Some veterans organizations have voiced opposition to the THC ban. Rep. Lowe, R-Fort Worth backs the ban. 'I'm deeply troubled that veterans are being used as props,' Lowe said. 'I believe passing Senate Bill three is one of the greatest accomplishments of this legislative session, and I want to thank Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick for his strong, steady leadership when it mattered most.' However, the Texas VFW says Lowe does not speak for them. 'Our national convention and our state convention… set the number one priority… as protecting any alternative to opioids,' Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Dave Walden said during Monday morning's news conference. 'That's one veteran's opinion. I have written consent that I speak for 64,000 veterans in Texas, not just one.' Walden added. He told reporters that THC products have helped him. 'Like thousands of us, I went through the government's solution — a never ending parade of pills: Vicodin, Valium, Tramadol, Neurontin, antidepressants, sleeping pills, the list goes on and on. Those drugs nearly destroyed me,' Walden said. 'Legal hemp-derived consumable THC gummies brought me back,' Walden added. As Gov. Greg Abbott signed key bail reform legislation into law Tuesday, one reporter asked the governor if he would sign SB 3. 'It is one of literally more than a thousand bills on my desk…I will give all of those pieces of legislation the consideration and time that they deserve,' Abbott replied. When pressed on the question, the governor was more direct. 'Very nice twist to the question, you're still not going to get an answer,' Abbott said. If he signs the bill, Texas would join a list of three states which have banned hemp-derived THC products entirely, though two of the three — California and Washington — have otherwise legalized marijuana for recreational use. The governor has until June 22 to decide if SB 3 will become law. This session, Texas lawmakers filed around 50 bills sparked by or following KXAN investigations on a wide range of important topics from schools and health care to criminal justice and constitutional law. Many of those advanced far in the legislative process, while a handful even made it to Abbott's desk and will likely become law. SB 1437 / SB 571: Misconduct Concerns Two bills related to the state's 'Do Not Hire' registries made it to the governor. He already signed Senate Bill 1437 into law, allowing the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to designate former employees or volunteers permanently ineligible for certification if they engage in conduct that threatens juvenile safety. The other expected to be signed is Senate Bill 571, which expands the Texas Education Agency's authority to investigate volunteers and third-part contractors who work on school campuses and are accused of misconduct. These bills were filed after KXAN revealed a juvenile corrections officer was able to get a tutoring job at an Austin ISD campus while under investigation for sexual misconduct by a state agency. SB 1 Provision: Crime Victim Payments Part of Senate Bill 1, the budget bill sent to the governor, includes a change to the state's crime victim compensation fund, which pays victims and their loved ones for recovery costs and other items like funeral expenses. It requires the Texas attorney general's office, which manages the fund, to give a more accurate picture of how quickly victims are paid and how well the program is working. It comes after KXAN discovered a flawed data formula was showing a much shorter wait time than the actual eight-month average to receive a first payment. The new law aims to have that happen in under 90 days. SB 1403: Child Support Payments Another bill signed by the governor that will impact the attorney general's office is Senate Bill 1403, dealing with the agency's child support division. It allows the attorney general to speed up procedures to cut down on unnecessary delays in delivering child support payments. The agency will also now be able to get information directly to families at courthouses and on its website. The measure comes after a KXAN investigation highlighted concerns from parents owed billions of dollars in child support. SB 378: 'Botox Party' Bill A measure pushing Botox patient safety and transparency will not become law, after the governor issued a veto Monday, the final day of the session. Senate Bill 378 would have prohibited barbers, cosmetologists and estheticians from administering Botox and other injectables unless they were licensed or authorized to give the shots. It also would have given the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation more disciplinary authority over those professionals. Several Texas estheticians and injectors registered their opposition to the bill this session. KXAN's reporting revealed anyone in Texas can become certified to do injections, including Botox, and highlighted the lack of oversight concerning medical experts. In his veto – the first of a Senate bill this session – Abbott called the measure 'unnecessary and overly-burdensome' for business in Texas. Near Misses, Still Making Impact Another measure, Senate Bill 660, related to patient safety and sparked by a KXAN investigation didn't make it over the legislative finish line. The hospital security measure cleared the Senate but stalled in a House committee. In its original form, it would have required hospitals to have security barriers at their entrances statewide. The bill was filed after KXAN's coverage of a deadly crash into an Austin emergency room last year, which led to a local ordinance requiring those devices at all new hospitals in the city. The state legislation, however, met heavy resistance from the Texas Hospital Association, largely over costs, even as lawmakers used KXAN's data to illustrate the frequency of these kinds of crashes into medical centers. The dataset now lists more than 580 over the last decade nationwide – many of those in Texas. The bill's author, Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said he plans to re-file next session. Another medical-related bill filed after KXAN's reporting would have expanded the use of medical examiners for death investigations in more counties across Texas. It came after we revealed most counties don't have medical examiners – doctors trained for that purpose – and instead rely on elected justices of the peace who often lack expertise in this area. Senate Bill 1370 died along with many other bills at a midnight House deadline in the session's final week, just one step from the governor's desk. But its sponsor, Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, tells KXAN he plans to call for an interim charge to study how to attract more doctors with this expertise to fill the growing need in Texas ahead of the next session. Also, looking ahead to next session, the author of House Bill 1738, Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, said he plans to re-file his legislation aimed at repealing the state's unconstitutional ban on 'homosexual conduct.' KXAN's analysis shows, since the 1980s, there have been at least 60 attempts to do just that – most of those since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 ruling struck down the law as unenforceable. HB 1978, which was filed after a KXAN investigation, made it further in the legislative process than any of those past bills. Critics say leaving the old law on the books allows for police and policymakers' misinterpretation of it. The governor has until June 22 to sign, veto or allow bills to become law without his signature. Several this session – including others on open government and state hospital beds – started with KXAN viewer tips. If you have something you think we should investigate, reach out to our investigative team. The 89th Texas Legislative Session concluded with 31 new state representatives completing their first 140 days in office, representing more than 20% of the House chamber. Among these freshman lawmakers were Republican Don McLaughlin of District 80 in south Texas and Democrat Lauren Ashley Simmons of District 146 in the Houston area. Each brought distinct backgrounds and legislative priorities to Austin. The freshman class emerged from elections that shifted the House composition to 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats, with Republicans gaining two additional seats. McLaughlin, who previously served as mayor of Uvalde during the tragic 2022 school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers, focused his legislative efforts on improving law enforcement response protocols. His signature legislation, the Uvalde Strong Act, passed both chambers and awaits Gov. Greg Abbott's signature. 'What I see in this bill, more than anything, is if an agency shows up, all these agencies have been training together, supposed to be meeting together now, so if the first agency on the scene does nothing, the second agency immediately knows what to do, then we won't have that chaos and that indecision that we saw that day at Uvalde,' McLaughlin said in an interview with KXAN's Will DuPree shortly after the session ended. The legislation would mandate annual training exercises between school districts and law enforcement agencies, require crisis response policies and establish reporting requirements for active shooter incidents. McLaughlin acknowledged the painful necessity behind his legislation. 'It's very meaningful. I'm ecstatic over but same token, I'm sad that we had to pass a law like this,' he said. On the Democratic side, Simmons was recognized by her colleagues as Freshman of the Year within the House Democratic Caucus. Despite serving in the minority party, she successfully advanced multiple pieces of legislation, with at least 11 bills bearing her name awaiting the governor's signature and five additional measures she co-authored or co-sponsored set to become law. Her most personal legislative achievement was House Bill 107, which would establish a Sickle Cell Disease Registry in Texas. The measure represents a personal fight for the Houston Democrat. 'My daughter has sickle cell disease. That was a bill I watched very closely. I was in tears when it did not become law, but I just couldn't. I had no idea that I would be in the legislature, and I would be that person that was able to bring that bill back,' Simmons said in an interview with KXAN's Will Dupree. The legislation represents a second attempt after a similar measure was vetoed by Abbott in 2023. Simmons worked to address the governor's previous concerns while maintaining the bill's core purpose. 'We made sure that we address the concerns that came from the governor's office, and so we are very confident with those you know, updates to that bill,' she said. Both lawmakers expressed exhaustion but satisfaction with their first legislative experience. McLaughlin highlighted additional accomplishments including judicial pay raises, bail reform measures and infrastructure improvements for economically distressed border communities in his district. 'You know, I think it was good. I think we had a really good session. You know, did we please everybody? Probably not, but I think we got a lot of good things done for the state of Texas in this session,' McLaughlin said. Simmons emphasized the magnitude of conducting state business for Texas, the nation's second-largest state by both population and economy, within the constraints of a biennial 140-day session. 'Being able to see how much work we're able to do, all the things that we're able to do for not just our individual districts that we represent, but for the millions of people in this state. It's such an honor. It's a heavy task. It's a heavy lift,' she said. The freshman class faced the challenge of learning legislative procedures while advancing their policy priorities. Simmons noted the complexity of the process, saying she 'gained a lot of respect for the process when you see just how many ways a bill can die.' As the session concluded, both representatives expressed commitment to continued advocacy for their constituents. McLaughlin indicated he would closely monitor the governor's action on the Uvalde Strong Act, while Simmons vowed to maintain her opposition to the state takeover of Houston Independent School District, which was extended through 2027. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Governor Signs $8.5B Education Bill, Boosting Teacher Pay
Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2 (HB2) into law Tuesday, delivering a 'historic' boost to public education funding and teacher pay across Texas. According to a June 4 press release from the governor's office, the $8.5 billion package includes a record $4 billion in salary raises for teachers and school staff. The goal is to build up the state's education workforce and improve student success rates. The bill signing occurred at Salado Middle School, where Abbott was joined by over 175 teachers, students, and parents. 'Now is the time to make Texas No. 1 in educating our children,' Abbott said. 'House Bill 2 ensures that our schools are funded better than ever, teacher pay and student funding are at all time highs, reading and math performance will improve, and students will be better prepared for the workforce.' The bill also dedicates nearly $834 million to special education, $648 million to 'early literacy and numeracy,' and $430 million to increasing overall school safety. Small and rural schools will receive $318 million in additional support, while $199 million will go toward expanding facilities for charter schools. Abbott was accompanied by Salado ISD Superintendent Dr. Michael Novotny and Temple ISD Educator JoMeka Gray at the ceremony. Gray, a Region 12 Teacher of the Year and 2025 Texas Teacher of the Year finalist, praised the legislation's focus on teacher retention and support for special education. 'House Bill 2 is more than just policy—it is a promise to our teachers,' Gray said. 'This legislation touches the lives of 5.5 million students enrolled in Texas public schools. It strengthens the teaching profession and largely supports the needs of special education students,' she added. Abbott's plan also expands career and technical education, particularly in smaller or previously underrepresented areas across Texas. Lawmakers allocated $153 million for high-demand fields of work and job training facilities, while $187 million will enhance teacher preparation and certification programs. The measure increases the Tier II basic allotment by $55 per student and funds school districts' operational costs: including transportation, insurance, and utilities – by $1.3 billion. In his 2025 State of the State Address, Abbott had previously declared an incoming increase in teacher pay raises and career training opportunities as emergency priorities for the legislative session. Yesterday, the governor's office announced that more than $481 million from the Teacher Incentive Allotment was distributed to over 42,000 designated teachers for the 2024-25 school year. 'The foundation is now in place for Texas education to start climbing the ranks,' Abbott said after signing the bill.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Temple ISD receives grant from Meta to advance STEM projects
TEMPLE, Texas (FOX 44) – The Temple Independent School District will launch several new STEM initiatives in the coming year after receiving a grant from Meta Temple Data Center. The district says it was recently notified of the $75,000 grant. The money will be earmarked to help fund three new STEM initiatives. It will also help support a new Summer STEM Explorations program. Temple ISD will offer a free summer STEM camp offering hands-on exploration for district students, and grant funding will help provide meals and transportation to make this program more accessible to students across the district. Funds will also help support the STEMpowering Educators professional development program. This program will help pay for district science and math teachers and leaders to attend conferences host by the Center for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST) and the National Teacher Institute for Math hosted by Carnegie Learning. Those conferences will provide those attending an opportunity to collaborate with other teachers and hear from experts in the field to help improve teaching and learning in math and science classrooms. The final project funded will be Fine Arts: STEAM and Movement. This project will allow the district to purchase portable BEAM projectors to use at elementary schools across Temple ISD to encourage students to connect learning in the arts to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math through interactive participation in games and activities. The district says previous donations from Meta have helped to reengineer its STEM programs and impact students on every grade level. The reengineering and expansion of STEM offerings is part of a district master plan that includes a five-year schedule of initiatives incorporating all Temple ISD campuses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
