The History of Texas School Finance

Many historical events contributed to the current Texas School Finance policies. In my opinion the following three events have made the most important impact.

The new Texas Constitution of 1845 provided for the establishment of free schools and called for one-tenth of the state revenue (Permanent School Fund) to support education. This critical action illustrated the dedication of the Texas legislature to quality education.

The equalization of funding provided under the Robin Hood Plan designated districts as Chapter 41 (wealthy) or Chapter 42 (poor) to provide a way to equally distribute funds to districts despite the property value inequalities from district to district. Districts with lower property values received a distribution from affluent areas to provide equity in educational services and technology.

The 1945Legislative Session produced the Gilmer-Aikens Laws of Texas Education which began to set standards of operation with the state’s supplement to local taxes to provide funding for public education in addition to the reduction of the number of districts, teacher salary increase, formalization of the school year calendar, and new guidelines for the State Board of Education and employment of the Commissioner of Education.

All of the above changes occurred in the past 200 years in Texas Public Education have served to scaffold the financial foundation of Texas Education for the 21^st century.