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Learn more about school funding.

FUND SCHOOLS FIRST

Fund Schools First is a collaborative initiative of urban, suburban, and rural school districts, the business community, and other organizations across Texas with support from the North Texas Commission. This initiative is designed to provide consistent and accurate information regarding school funding and the impact of inflation to lawmakers, business leaders, and the community at large.

Fund Schools First

See How Much Vouchers Would Defund Your School District

From Raise Your Hand Texas

School Funding

Why are Districts Filing Deficit Budgets?

From additional policy groups

The Truth About School Finance in Texas: Myth vs. Reality

School Finance Fact Check

Report on School District Mandates: Cost Drivers in Public Education

Why Enrollment-Based Funding is a Better Option

Count Every Student: Attendance-Based Funding Leaves Too Many Students Behind

Media coverage of school funding

How are Texas public schools funded? And do they get equal money?

Learn more about school vouchers.

School Vouchers 101*

What are School Vouchers?

School vouchers are taxpayer-funded subsidies given to private schools and vendors without transparency and accountability for results. Current conversations in Texas refer to them as a “school choice” option. They also often go by a variety of other names, including education savings accounts (ESAs), tax credit scholarships, and virtual or special education grants, to name a few.

Regardless of what you call them, school vouchers and ESAs siphon public dollars away from public schools without the accountability and transparency required of traditional public schools. That’s a problem because accountability and transparency are strongly favored by Texans.

In fact, a recent survey of Texans found 88% of respondents agreed that if private schools received state funding, they should publicly report all school finances (Source: Charles Butt Foundation Poll, 2023).

* Raise Your Hand Texas