He signed into law HB 2, filed by state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, which passed the legislature with bipartisan support.

The additional $12.5 billion in funding will ensure that Texas public 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 foundation is now in place for Texas education to start climbing the ranks,” he said.

“What is our goal in education?” Abbott asked. “I am the first governor in the history of our state to actually articulate that goal. Texas is number one in so many categories. Texas should be #1 in educating our children.

“The goal to be #1, to become a champion, starts with a spark of aspiration. And that aspiration provides drive to be able to achieve that goal. But we all know that aspiration alone doesn’t achieve a goal, especially a goal as lofty as being ranked #1. That requires action. We’ve been down this road in Texas many times. A few decades ago, Texas was categorized by some publications as a bad state for doing business,” he said, but after the legislature implemented a series of reforms, including lawsuit reform, Texas has been ranked as the best state for doing business for 20 years.

He said Texas education outcomes could follow the same path as Texas’ business ranking because of provisions in the bill, including expanding career and technical education opportunities, especially in rural areas, increasing funding for high-demand fields and career training facilities, rewarding exemplary teachers with permanent pay raises, investing in high-quality teacher preparation programs and providing incentives to help schools get existing teachers certified.

The $8.5 billion in new funding for public education includes $4 billion for teacher and staff pay raises and expands the Teacher Incentive Allotment, Texas’ merit-based pay program.

It allocates $153 million to expand career and technical education opportunities; $834 million for special education reforms; $648 million targeted to strategies for improving early literacy and numeracy; $187 million for teacher preparation and certification programs and $430 million to increase the school safety allotment.

It allocates $1.3 billion for school district operational costs, including insurance, transportation, and utilities, in response to districts arguing they can’t meet rising costs due to inflation.

It also allocates $199 million to expand the charter school facilities allotment, $318 million to provide additional funding to small and rural schools, and $296 million for adjustments to the Tier II funding formula, which provides a $55 basic allotment increase per-student.

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES IN FAVOR OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ON TEXAS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TUITION LAW

Prior to the bill signing, Abbott announced that more than $481 million in Teacher Incentive Allotment funds were awarded for more than 42,000 designated Texas teachers during the 2024-25 school year.

“Since 2019, TIA has awarded over $1 billion to highly effective and impactful teachers across the state. Designed to keep Texas’ best educators in the classroom, TIA provides a clear pathway for teachers to earn a six-figure salary,” the governor’s office said. Teachers are awarded in three categories through TIA, recognized, exemplary and master. HB 2 creates a fourth, acknowledged, and makes more teachers eligible for the allotments.