2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB2
HB2 is a broad Texas public-school law, not just a single teacher raise.
Official caption: Relating to public education and public school finance.
Official report lists House author(s): Buckley, Bernal, Guillen. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
A focused correction and its review limits appear below the explanation. This correction is not a completed full-bill review.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- HB2 is a broad Texas public-school law, not just a single teacher raise.
- One major change is new funding to school districts for experienced teachers.
- The law also changes teacher-incentive designations and preparation, special-education services and funding, early learning, and college/career readiness.
What does it do?
HB2 is a broad Texas public-school law, not just a single teacher raise. The governor signed it on June 20, 2025; different parts have different start dates. This explanation describes the enrolled text, not a pending vote.
One major change is new funding to school districts for experienced teachers. For each eligible teacher with three to four years of experience, the annual teacher-retention allotment is $4,000 in districts with 5,000 or fewer students, or $2,500 in larger districts. For teachers with at least five years, it is $8,000 or $5,000, respectively. For the 2025–26 school year, districts generally must use the allotment to raise those teachers’ salaries by at least that amount; a district applying for an enhanced performance-pay system has a different option. HB2 also provides $45 per student in adjusted attendance for pay increases for non-administrative support staff. These are payments to districts under specified rules, not separate checks mailed to every educator. See Article 1, Section 1.07.
The law also changes teacher-incentive designations and preparation, special-education services and funding, early learning, and college/career readiness. Some later special-education funding depends on state-set formulas and appropriations. The official fiscal note estimated an $8.38 billion net cost to state general-revenue-related funds for 2026–27 and said certain later special-education costs could not yet be determined. A fiscal estimate is not itself an appropriation or a complete measure of every effect.
Corrections and review limits
Correction · November 3, 2026: The original explanation omitted a funding qualification: a district that previously received the higher teacher-retention amounts for districts with 5,000 or fewer students keeps that funding treatment if its enrollment grows above 5,000. Final HB2, Article 1, section 1.07; Education Code 48.158(b-1).
Only this teacher-retention funding qualification was checked for this correction. The full HB2 review remains incomplete: an official House amendment instruction is incomplete, and the expanded explanation still needs its final review.
What changed along the way?
Short amendment summary: The official index records 27 amendment entries: 13 adopted, seven withdrawn, six tabled, and one failed. That count includes amendments to amendments; it does not mean 13 separate provisions survived unchanged.
Among changes visible in the enrolled law, a Senate amendment reduced proposed teacher-retention amounts for eligible teachers in smaller districts from $5,000 to $4,000 (three to four years’ experience) and from $10,000 to $8,000 (at least five years), while adding a $45-per-adjusted-student allotment for non-administrative staff. Another Senate amendment changed a math-training provision from eighth grade to third grade; the final law covers kindergarten through third grade. A third-reading amendment added temporary state aid for districts when other funding gains do not cover the new retention allotments. Other amendment entries remain available in the official list; this is a selected summary, not a claim that every adopted proposal survived intact.
27 official amendment records captured. The index records proposals and outcomes; read the source-checked explanation above for reviewed effects. The offering legislator is not necessarily the drafter.
H 2 #1 · Adopted
4/16/2025 · Offered by Buckley | et al. · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #2 · Adopted
4/16/2025 · Offered by Bernal | et al. · Amendment to Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #3 · Failed
4/16/2025 · Offered by Schoolcraft · Substitute to Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #4 · Adopted
4/16/2025 · Offered by Buckley · Amendment to Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #5 · Tabled
4/16/2025 · Offered by Olcott · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #6 · Withdrawn
4/16/2025 · Offered by Cain · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #7 · Adopted
4/16/2025 · Offered by King · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #8 · Adopted
4/16/2025 · Offered by Thompson · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #9 · Adopted
4/16/2025 · Offered by Guillen | et al. · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #10 · Withdrawn
4/16/2025 · Offered by Schofield | et al. · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #11 · Adopted
4/16/2025 · Offered by González, Mary · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #12 · Tabled
4/16/2025 · Offered by Bryant · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #13 · Withdrawn
4/16/2025 · Offered by Bryant · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #14 · Tabled
4/16/2025 · Offered by Bryant · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #15 · Tabled
4/16/2025 · Offered by Bryant · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #16 · Tabled
4/16/2025 · Offered by Bryant · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
H 2 #17 · Tabled
4/16/2025 · Offered by Bryant · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 2 #F1 · Adopted
5/22/2025 · Offered by Creighton · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 2 #F2 · Adopted
5/22/2025 · Offered by Creighton · Amendment to Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 2 #F3 · Adopted
5/22/2025 · Offered by Creighton · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 2 #F4 · Adopted
5/22/2025 · Offered by Creighton · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 2 #F5 · Withdrawn
5/22/2025 · Offered by Menéndez · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 2 #F6 · Withdrawn
5/22/2025 · Offered by Menéndez · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 2 #F7 · Withdrawn
5/22/2025 · Offered by Menéndez · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 2 #F8 · Withdrawn
5/22/2025 · Offered by Menéndez · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 3 #F1 · Adopted
5/23/2025 · Offered by Creighton · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
S 3 #F2 · Adopted
5/23/2025 · Offered by Creighton · Amendment.
Item-by-item effect and final-law survival are not annotated here. Read the source-checked version comparison above when available; adoption alone does not establish final wording.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
Who could benefit: Eligible experienced classroom teachers could receive the salary increases funded by the teacher-retention allotment. Non-administrative employees—including counselors, nurses, aides, bus drivers, and custodial staff—could receive raises from the separate support-staff allotment; the law directs districts to use that funding for their compensation. Districts could receive new state funding for special-education services and initial evaluations, and students receiving those services could benefit if that funding improves access or support. These effects depend on eligibility, district implementation, and, for some programs, later state decisions; they are not guaranteed payments or outcomes for every teacher, worker, or student. Enrolled law; official fiscal note.
Who bears costs: The Legislative Budget Board estimated an $8.38 billion net cost to state general-revenue-related funds in the 2026–27 budget period. That is a state-budget estimate, not a bill sent directly to individual taxpayers; HB2 itself makes no appropriation. The fiscal note also says school districts and other local education agencies may face implementation and reporting costs, although they are expected to receive additional state funding. Some special-education costs after 2027 could not yet be calculated because future funding rates were undetermined. The available official record does not establish how much any particular taxpayer or district will ultimately pay. Official fiscal note, including Local Government Impact.
Recorded House vote
05/29/2025 · Record 4015
House concurrence in Senate amendments to HB 2. This is the stated House motion, not necessarily a separate vote on an amendment.
122 yea · 13 nay · 1 present, not voting
Individual recorded positions and absences
Yea (122)
Alders, Anchía, Ashby, Barry, Bell, C., Bell, K., Bernal, Bhojani, Bonnen, Bowers, Bryant, Buckley, Bucy, Bumgarner, Button, Campos, Canales, Capriglione, Cole, Collier, Cook, Cortez, Craddick, Cunningham, Curry, Darby, Davis, Y., Dean, DeAyala, Dorazio, Dyson, Fairly, Flores, Frank, Gámez, Garcia, J., Garcia, L., Garcia Hernandez, Gerdes, Geren, Gervin-Hawkins, González, M., Goodwin, Guerra, Guillen, Harless, Harris Davila, Hayes, Hefner, Hernandez, Hickland, Hinojosa, Holt, Howard, Hull, Hunter, Isaac, Johnson, Jones, J., King, Kitzman, LaHood, Lalani, Lambert, Landgraf, Leo Wilson, Longoria, Lopez, J., Lopez, R., Louderback, Lowe, Lozano, Lujan, Martinez, Martinez Fischer, McLaughlin, McQueeney, Metcalf, Meyer, Money, Moody, Morales, C., Morales, E., Morales Shaw, Muñoz, Noble, Olcott, Oliverson, Ordaz, Patterson, Paul, Perez, M., Perez, V., Phelan, Plesa, Raymond, Richardson, Rose, Schatzline, Schofield, Shaheen, Shofner, Slawson, Smithee, Spiller, Swanson, Talarico, Tepper, Thompson, Tinderholt, Toth, Troxclair, Turner, VanDeaver, Vasut, Villalobos, Vo, Walle, Ward Johnson, Wharton, Wilson, Zwiener
Nay (13)
Cain, González, J., Harrison, Hopper, Little, Luther, Morgan, Pierson, Reynolds, Rodríguez Ramos, Rosenthal, Schoolcraft, Wu
Present, not voting (1)
Mr. Speaker(C)
Absent, excused (5)
Dutton, Harris, Kerwin, Meza, Virdell
Absent (9)
Allen, Davis, A., Gates, Jones, V., Leach, Manuel, Orr, Romero, Simmons
Names and categories appear as printed in the official journal. Read the exact House record ↗
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.