Senate takes up House Bill 2, adopts major amendment creating new allotments and billions in school funding

Senators laid out and adopted a negotiated amendment to the committee substitute for House Bill 2, a sweeping public education and school‑finance package that sponsors described as the most transformative education funding plan in state history. The amendment creates a new allotment for basic fixed costs and a support‑staff retention allotment and adjusts multiple funding streams for teacher compensation, special education, early literacy, school safety and facilities.

Senator Brandon Creighton, sponsor on the floor, said HB 2 delivers a “conservative, student‑centered approach built on targeted investments, not bureaucracy” and tied the funding package to a set of specific allotments and program changes negotiated with House counterparts.

Why it matters: The amendment adopted on the Senate floor directs billions in recurring state funds to teacher pay raises, support staff retention and district fixed costs such as transportation and insurance, and includes dedicated amounts for special education evaluations, early literacy and campus safety. Sponsors said the structure both increases per‑student funding and creates targeted streams to address persistent cost drivers for districts.

Major provisions and floor debate

Floor amendment No. 1 — described by Creighton as the result of inter‑chamber negotiations — creates two new allotments:

- Allotment for Basic Costs (ABC): $1.2 billion in new state dollars targeted to fixed district costs (transportation, property/casualty…