Future of TX Classrooms: What to watch in 89th Lege
This is a preview of our Texas 2036 newsletter with what to watch for on public education in the new legislative session. To receive this weekly look at our work, sign up here.
Here’s your guide to this session’s education issues!
With Texas’ booming population and economy comes a need to invest in the critical factors of Texas’ long-term success — notably public education.
Fortunately, Texas’ historic budget surplus gives lawmakers a unique opportunity to make meaningful investments in education and workforce readiness programs, paving the way for greater opportunities for every Texan.
What Are Voters Saying? Improve Career Readiness
In November’s Texas Voter Poll — Texas 2036’s flagship survey of statewide opinions — voters voiced concerns about the next generation’s readiness for the jobs of the future and they want action now to get young Texans ready.
61%
didn’t think Texas high school grads are ready to enter and succeed in the workforce of the future.
91%
thought that Texas high school students should have access to the workforce training programs that would ready them for a good job.
79%
favored earlier parental notification that their child is behind in math. This does not happen now until the end of third grade; our poll found support for doing this as early as kindergarten.
We’re watching for what lawmakers will do this year on support to families for educational expenses, including tuition at private schools. Texas voters, though, tell us the state needs to continue rigorous accountability standards.
71%
want students who receive state funds to attend private schools to take tests similar to their public school counterparts.
How much do we spend on public education?
The Senate and House released their base budgets this week which will guide budget writers’ work over the coming weeks and months. Here’s what each chamber would spend on public education:
- SB 1: $96.8 billion in combined state and federal funds
- HB 1: $97.3 billion in combined state and federal funds
Want to know how much the Legislature might spend? Our budget policy director Rahul Sreenivasan talked to KXAN-TV about the base budgets.
A six point agenda to advance education in Texas
1. Early literacy
Lawmakers have the opportunity to improve student success tomorrow by closing reading gaps today and investing early in students’ academic success — saving the state and families from expensive remediation efforts later.
Why this matters: Only 46% of Texas third graders are reading on grade level. For students experiencing economic disadvantage, this rate falls to 36%.
2. Early math education
What lawmakers do this year to address the lack of math readiness will have wide-reaching, generational effects for K-3 students in Texas public schools.
Why this matters: 59% of Texas students are below grade level in math. In every grade, Texas students remain below pre-pandemic math achievement.
Learn more: Early Math in Texas: How It Can Shape Our Workforce
3. Assessments and accountability are important
State assessments provide an essential and objective measure of student performance and provide key information to support student learning, enabling parents and policymakers to make data-driven decisions to improve outcomes.
Why this matters: Nearly 90% of parents think their children are performing at grade level. But only 47% of Texas students are actually meeting expectations.
4. Transforming post-graduation opportunities
To build the skilled and competitive workforce that our state needs as the 8th largest economy in the world, Texas must strengthen the value of our PK-12 education and reimagine what the high school experience can look like.
Why this matters: Just 29% of Texas voters believe that high school students are graduating ready to find a job and succeed in the future economy.
5. Improving rural career readiness
New initiatives to better support strong outcomes for rural students and bolster local rural economies are increasingly popular. Lawmakers this session can move to ensure more districts can take part in these efforts.
Why this matters: In one district (Freer ISD), students graduating college, career and military ready jumped 52.9 percentage points from 2017 to 2023; dual credit completion rates rose 39.2 percentage points.
Learn more: How Texas Lege 2025 Can Invest In Rural Students
6. Supporting our teachers
Nearly 3.7 million Texas students attend schools with an approved teacher incentive allotment (TIA) system; early adopters are seeing promising results in student achievement. Lawmakers can act this year to expand this program.
Why this matters: Teachers in TIA districts are 8 percentage points more likely to continue teaching in their district.
Coming Next Week: The Nation’s Report Card
Every two years, students across the country take the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading and mathematics — often called The Nation’s Report Card — with 2024 results due out on Jan. 29.
For a more detailed deep dive into the Nation’s Report Card and what to look for in this year’s data, check out Gabe Grantham’s latest piece on what the numbers could tell us about the state of math education in the Lone Star State.
More: The Nation’s Report Card: What We’re Watching in Texas
Meet our ed policy team! 👋
And read what’s being written about our ed policy work:
- Why EPISD plans to enroll all eighth graders into Algebra 1 (El Paso Matters)
- Texas’ youngest students are struggling with their learning, educators say (Texas Tribune)
- Longview state of workforce meeting focuses on education (KETK-TV)
- How a Dallas high school is propping up college readiness (Dallas Morning News)
- Educators concerned as math test scores continue to decline in Austin ISD, statewide (Community Impact)
- Texas community colleges push Legislature for additional funds, job tracking system (El Paso Matters)
- Texas lawmakers have their priorities for this session. But what do Texans want? (Austin American-Statesman)
- Texas overhauled community college funding in 2023. Now, lawmakers will look to bolster it (Fort Worth Report)
- Unlocking potential: The case for expanding college education in prison (The Big Bend Sentinel)
Let us know what you think!
Do you think high school grads are ready to enter and succeed in the workforce of the future? If not, we want to hear from you on a solution.