SALADO, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott visited Salado on Wednesday to sign an $8.5 billion education bill into law, calling it a major step toward making Texas “number one in education in the United States.”
House Bill 2, now law, includes historic teacher pay raises and expanded funding for school choice initiatives. Abbott said the legislation will reshape the state’s public education system.
“Texas is number one in so many categories. We should be number one in educating children,” Abbott said during the bill-signing event.
The governor chose to sign the bill in Salado because its author, State Rep. Brad Buckley, Bell County. Buckley joined Abbott at the signing table.
“There’s never a more important time to put resources in the hands of educators to be number one,” Buckley said.
The bill passed both chambers of the Texas Legislature. Buckley credited Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, for helping secure its passage in the Senate.
“Buckley is a good negotiator and a man of character and integrity,” Creighton said. “All the kids you see here and the teachers are on his heart and at the top of his priority.”
Creighton emphasized that the bill’s teacher pay increases are permanent and will grow biennially.
“This teacher allotment isn’t just a bonus, but it’s permanent,” he said.
Supporters say the legislation puts teachers on a pathway toward six-figure salaries, calling it a generational change for public education in Texas.
“The foundation is now in place for Texas education to begin its rise to be number one in the United States,” Abbott said. “Students will now be better prepared to make good money if they go straight into the workforce after graduation.”
HB 2 is now in effect.
