History+of+Texas+School+Finance

Top three events in the history of Texas school finance: 1876 Texas Constitution, The Gilmer-Aiken Laws and Senate Bill 1.

I believe this is one of the most important events in Texas history because this is the foundation which the funding for public schools is built upon. "A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and made suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools." The interpretation of the above language has led to numerous historical events, (lawsuits and restrictions on local school districts), regarding the funding of Texas public schools.
 * __The Constitution of the State of Texas 1876__**
 * (The Why)**

These laws are often considered the first comprehensive structuring of the school finance system in the state of Texas. School districts were consolidated, teacher salaries were increased, public education funding became a shared responsibility between the state and local citizens, the State Board of Education became a larger elected board with the power to appoint a state commissioner of education, state funding became dependent on attendance, the State Department of Education, (now TEA), was created, Texas students were guaranteed nine months of free public education for twelve years, and teachers were required to teach 175 days/year.
 * __The Gilmer-Aiken Laws - 1947__**
 * (The How)**

The passing of Senate Bill 7 in 1993 changed how school districts approach their annual budget. Recapturing forced Chapter 41 districts to redistribute their property tax revenue in order to create equalization in funding for Chapter 42 districts. Of course, we all refer to this as the "Robin Hood Plan".
 * __Senate Bill 7 - 1993__**
 * (The How and Why Challenges)**