It’s only the second week of the 85th Legislative Session, and we are thrilled to share that Senator Donna Campbell filed SB 457 last week on our number one legislative priority: facilities funding.

Public charter schools are the fastest growing public school system in the state with student enrollment at 247,236, increasing at more than six times the rate of school districts per year. The demand from Texas families for a charter school seat is also growing with more than 141,000 students on a waiting list. In order to meet this demand with zero facilities funding, public charter schools use classroom dollars for bricks and mortar.

Charter schools receive $1400 less per student on average than other public schools because of the lack of facilities funding. SB 457 seeks to close this funding gap by one-half and provide charter schools with $700 per student. This legislation proposes the state provide facilities funding for public charter schools and puts them on par with the state efforts for property poor school districts.

The Texas Charter Schools Association thanks Senator Donna Campbell for her strong support for public charter schools and we look forward to working with her to ensure all students have access to a quality public education!