Teach Plus Texas Senior Policy Fellow JoMeka Gray with Gov. Greg Abbott as he signs HB2 into law
Austin, Texas, June 4, 2025—Teach Plus Texas issued the following statement after Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2:
Teach Plus Texas and Teach Plus teacher leaders commend the policymakers who supported HB2 and Gov. Abbott for his signature on the legislation, which will increase public school funding by about $8.5 billion, focusing on permanent teacher pay raises and improved special education. It also will expand funding streams for various educational programs like career and technical education, early learning, teacher preparation and certification, and district operational costs.
“Teachers are the only professionals who are responsible for cultivating the workforce of the future. HB2, which Teach Plus teacher leaders consistently advocated for, is a true teacher workforce bill. I commend Governor Greg Abbott, Chairman Brad Buckley, and Chairman Brandon Creighton for their hard work and collaboration in crafting and passing this historic law. Teachers, students, families, and communities across Texas will benefit from this historic legislation,” said Teach Plus Texas Executive Director Kevin Malonson.
Teach Plus teacher leaders testified at legislative committees and 38 Teach Plus Policy Fellows traveled to Austin in March, holding more than 80 legislative meetings to support teacher workforce and student achievement investments that are now part of HB 2. In addition, Policy Fellows wrote op-eds about funding for multilinguals and literacy. Senior Policy Fellow JoMeka Gray sat next to Gov. Abbott as he signed the bill into law.
“House Bill 2 is more than just policy—it is a promise to our students and teachers. This bill prioritizes teacher quality and preparation, as well as research-based strategies in early literacy and numeracy, which are critical to long-term academic success for students,” said Teach Plus Senior Policy Fellow JoMeka Gray, who teaches at Kennedy-Powell Elementary School in Temple Independent School District.
About Teach Plus
The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. Since 2009, Teach Plus has trained thousands of teacher leaders across the country who are driving policy changes and improving the instructional practices of teachers to create an education system driven by equity, access, and excellence for all students. https://teachplus.org/tx/
