Time to Act: Why We Need the State To Ho-Ho-Hold Schools Harmless This December

This school year, due to the pandemic, Texas public schools have seen steep enrollment declines that could have impacted their budgets. Thankfully the state has stepped in, and rather than funding schools based on their average daily attendance numbers, they opted to fund schools based on historical attendance data, something called “hold harmless.”

Unfortunately, the hold harmless funding model is set to expire on Dec. 31, and if it does, schools could be forced to make some pretty severe cuts.

In our sixth episode of Intersect Ed, hosted by Raise Your Hand’s Tessa Benavides, we take an up-close dive into what “hold harmless” really means for school districts across the state and what effects schools will immediately feel if it expires.

Throughout the episode you will hear from two superintendents and Bob Popinski, Raise Your Hand’s Director of Policy. This episode is part of a series laying out the biggest issues our schools will face in the coming year that Raise Your Hand Texas will champion during the 2021 Texas Legislative session.