On August 29, 2016, the Legislative Budget Board posted the Texas Education Agency’s Legislative Appropriations Request for the 2018-19 biennium. The appropriation request responds to the directive from Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Speaker Joe Straus to reduce budget requests by 4 percent for the 2018-19 biennium. TEA stated, that “significant reduction in funding for…programs [to be cut] for the 2018-2019 biennium will have negative effects on the population of students benefiting from these services.”
Per the June 2016 directive from Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Speaker Joe Straus that state agencies to reduce their budget requests by 4 percent for the 2018-19 biennium, TEA’s appropriation request includes the following suggested cuts:
- Academic Innovation & Mentoring (100 percent reduction)
- Best Buddies (100 percent reduction)
- Educator Excellence Humanities Texas (100 percent reduction)
- Adult Charter School Pilot (50 percent reduction)
- Amachi (50 percent reduction)
- Communities in Schools (15 percent reduction)
- Non-Educational Community-Based Support (10 percent reduction)
- Advanced Placement Initiative (5 percent reduction)
- Reasoning Mind (4 percent reduction)
- FitnessGram (4 percent reduction)
- Teach For America (4 percent reduction)
In addition to the items listed above, TEA also eliminated funding for the Subsidy for Certification Examination (100 percent) because districts can use their federal Perkins money for this purpose and TEA reduced funding for Incentive Aid (33 percent reduction) because projections indicate less funding will be required.”
TEA made nine exceptional item requests reflecting increases in current funding levels that are detailed on pages 3-5 of the “Administrator's Statement” section, including:
- Math Innovation Zones grants ($20 million/two FTEs)
- High-quality prekindergarten ($117,675,458/no FTEs)
- Protect students from inappropriate educator relationships via investigation and prosecution ($391,134/three FTEs)
- Implementation of Texas Student Data System ($6,000,000/11.5 FTEs)
- E-rate high-speed internet infrastructure for classroom connectivity ($25,250,000/no FTEs)
- Ensure student and teacher data privacy and cybersecurity ($13,410,120/17 FTEs and contractors)
- Effectively implement low-performing campus turnaround and monitoring of districts of innovation best practices under HB 1842 ($1,000,000/seven FTEs)
- Restore 4-percent reduction for STAAR test item release to improve transparency ($4,173,842/no FTEs)
- Windham School District program expansion ($11,541,448/no FTEs)
TEA also stated certain programs areas are exempt from a four percent reduction, “namely Foundation School Program (formula funding), [because] TEA strictly adheres to statutory requirements and historical data for determining potential increases in the state’s student populations and property values.”
TEA also responded to the second directive to identify ten percent reductions. In reference to the identified ten percent reductions, TEA stated “There is no debating that the reductions, if made, would negatively impact participating children and student outcomes.”
To access the Texas Education Agency’s Legislative Appropriations Request for the 2018-19 biennium, click on the link below.
http://docs.lbb.state.tx.us/display.aspx?DocType=LAR&agy=703&fy=2018