Gov. Greg Abbott signs $8.5 billion public education funding plan into law. Here’s how it works.

By Texas Tribune, El Paso Matters By Jaden Edison / The Texas Tribune Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed into law a bill providing roughly $8.5 billion in new funding for Texas public schools, offering relief to districts for teacher and support staff pay, operational expenses, special education, educator preparation, early childhood learning and campus safety.

The new dollars in House Bill 2, which lawmakers have dubbed “historic” because it marks the largest one-time public education investment in recent memory, will arrive after years of stagnant funding. That includes 2023, when the state gave schools targeted money in areas like school security but left billions more on the table due to the political fallout over private school vouchers. Abbott signed a $1 billion voucher program i