The following legislative priorities reflect our community members' and stakeholders' concerns and needs. These priorities aim to improve public education, student support, and school funding while advocating for policies that ensure the well-being and success of students, teachers, and administrators. The PBTISD Board of Trustees is committed to the following priorities and being the voice for our community at the 89th Legislative Session.

• Call for transparency in recapture calculations and allocation to ensure districts understand how their contributions are utilized.

• Push for a system that promotes equity while addressing the financial needs of rural districts.

• Support legislation that provides relief for property-wealthy districts like PBTISD while maintaining funding equity across the state.

• Urge lawmakers to significantly increase the Basic Allotment to better reflect rising costs in education, including inflation and teacher salaries.

• Advocate for sustainable funding mechanisms that ensure long-term stability for Texas public schools.

• Support additional funding for districts to implement full-day pre-K, enhanced CTE programs, and extracurricular opportunities for all students.

• Encourage targeted funding increases for special education, mental health resources, and teacher retention programs.

• Advocate for a growth-based model that assesses students’ academic progress over time, rather than relying on one high-stakes test.

• Push to reduce the weight of standardized test scores in the state accountability system, giving more consideration to holistic measures of success.

• Support legislation that empowers districts to develop locally driven assessments that align with community and student needs.

• Advocate for greater flexibility in the accountability system to address the unique challenges faced by rural and high-need districts.

• Increase funding for mental health support.

• Streamline processes for identifying and addressing student mental health needs, ensuring timely interventions.

• Support legislation that strengthens school safety by funding facility upgrades, safety technology, and training for teachers and law enforcement.

• Promote proactive discipline measures that focus on student growth.