Texas lawmakers have passed an $8.5 billion public school funding bill, but local education leaders say it’s still not enough to see changes in the classroom.

The finalized version of House Bill 2 passed May 29 after the Senate made big edits to the lower chamber’s first draft. Gov. Greg Abbott plans to sign it into law.

Ultimately, the school finance package will fund employee salaries, operational expenses, educator preparation, special education, campus safety and early childhood learning, which means funding a full day of preschool in some cases.

The passage of the bill happened more than a month after Abbott signed school vouchers into law and is far cry from last legislative session when vouchers failed to move forward and billions for public schools were withheld as a conseque

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