Texas
Texas operates the second-largest public school system in the US, with nearly 5.5 million students in 1,200+ school districts — from the massive Houston ISD (seventh-largest in the nation) to tiny rural districts with fewer than 100 students. Texas's school finance system has been contested in litigation for decades, with the Edgewood v. Kirby series and subsequent cases repeatedly finding unconstitutional inequities between wealthy and poor districts. The state's accountability system — STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) — is one of the most comprehensive in the nation, used for both grade promotion and school ratings. Texas has a substantial English Learner population (over 20% of students) and a rapidly diversifying student body. The state recently passed HB 3 (2019) and SB 2 (2023) to increase per-pupil funding, teacher pay, and expanded school choice through an Education Savings Account program.
| District | Schools | Students | Per-Pupil | Grad Rate | Free Lunch | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Districts — 10,000+ Students | ||||||
| HOUSTON ISD | 274 | 190K | $14,515↓21% | 79.4%↓11% | 77.2%↑16% | 43 |
| DALLAS ISD | 237 | 141K | $18,024 | 85.3% | 84.9%↑27% | 37 |
| CYPRESS-FAIRBANKS ISD | 90 | 117K | $14,636↓20% | 92.9% | 58.5%↓12% | 56 |
| NORTHSIDE ISD | 124 | 103K | $13,257↓27% | 94.4%↑6% | 54.1%↓19% | 45 |
| KATY ISD | 72 | 92K | $14,435↓21% | 94.4%↑6% | 43.5%↓35% | 61 |
| FORT BEND ISD | 84 | 80K | $14,425↓21% | 94.1%↑6% | 50.3%↓25% | 44 |
| IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS | 123 | 74K | $11,965↓35% | 97.5%↑9% | 87.0%↑31% | 42 |
| AUSTIN ISD | 124 | 73K | $26,950↑47% | 96.4%↑8% | 51.5%↓23% | 41 |
| FORT WORTH ISD | 139 | 73K | $15,887↓13% | 87.3% | 84.0%↑26% | 36 |
| CONROE ISD | 63 | 71K | $14,087↓23% | 93.6%↑5% | 43.9%↓34% | 41 |
| FRISCO ISD | 74 | 66K | $13,893↓24% | 98.8%↑11% | 14.3%↓79% | 51 |
| ALDINE ISD | 78 | 60K | $12,943↓29% | 82.5%↓7% | 91.6%↑37% | 42 |
| NORTH EAST ISD | 75 | 59K | $12,524↓31% | 92.5% | 52.3%↓22% | 49 |
| ARLINGTON ISD | 75 | 56K | $14,300↓22% | 87.2% | 75.3%↑13% | 48 |
| KLEIN ISD | 52 | 54K | $12,038↓34% | 92.0% | 53.6%↓20% | 44 |
| GARLAND ISD | 72 | 51K | $11,836↓35% | 92.9% | 71.2%↑7% | 44 |
| EL PASO ISD | 75 | 49K | $15,379↓16% | 87.6% | 75.6%↑13% | 45 |
| LEWISVILLE ISD | 62 | 49K | $15,391↓16% | 95.2%↑7% | 37.3%↓44% | 53 |
| PLANO ISD | 79 | 49K | $16,882↓8% | 95.7%↑7% | 36.8%↓45% | 51 |
| HUMBLE ISD | 50 | 49K | $15,281↓16% | 93.7%↑5% | 48.4%↓27% | 50 |
| PASADENA ISD | 67 | 49K | $14,899↓18% | 88.4% | 85.4%↑28% | 47 |
| SOCORRO ISD | 51 | 48K | $14,281↓22% | 92.2% | 74.3%↑12% | 43 |
| ROUND ROCK ISD | 60 | 47K | $15,721↓14% | 97.1%↑9% | 26.6%↓60% | 52 |
| SAN ANTONIO ISD | 98 | 45K | $17,992 | 86.7% | 88.0%↑32% | 37 |
| KILLEEN ISD | 54 | 44K | $13,583↓26% | 88.9% | 60.3%↓9% | 36 |
| LAMAR CISD | 44 | 42K | $15,321↓16% | 94.6%↑6% | 47.6%↓29% | 46 |
| LEANDER ISD | 47 | 42K | $13,775↓25% | 97.2%↑9% | 19.9%↓70% | 43 |
| UNITED ISD | 51 | 41K | $13,953↓24% | 95.0%↑7% | 76.8%↑15% | 42 |
| CLEAR CREEK ISD | 47 | 41K | $12,180↓33% | 95.8%↑8% | 28.1%↓58% | 55 |
| ALIEF ISD | 46 | 40K | $15,230↓17% | 90.7% | 86.5%↑30% | 43 |
| MESQUITE ISD | 50 | 38K | $14,391↓21% | 92.4% | 83.1%↑25% | 39 |
| BROWNSVILLE ISD | 56 | 38K | $14,771↓19% | 93.2% | 89.2%↑34% | 40 |
| RICHARDSON ISD | 55 | 37K | $16,946↓7% | 90.1% | 57.0%↓15% | 45 |
| YSLETA ISD | 52 | 36K | $18,740 | 90.6% | 78.3%↑17% | 41 |
| MANSFIELD ISD | 47 | 36K | $11,557↓37% | 95.6%↑7% | 48.4%↓27% | 41 |
| SPRING ISD | 42 | 34K | $12,850↓30% | 79.6%↓11% | 84.2%↑26% | 45 |
| KELLER ISD | 41 | 34K | $15,074↓18% | 95.5%↑7% | 32.5%↓51% | 49 |
| EDINBURG CISD | 45 | 34K | $14,586↓20% | 89.7% | 82.6%↑24% | 42 |
| SPRING BRANCH ISD | 49 | 34K | $18,524 | 88.8% | 56.7%↓15% | 58 |
| CORPUS CHRISTI ISD | 57 | 33K | $13,510↓26% | 91.0% | 72.8%↑9% | 42 |
| KIPP TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS | 58 | 33K | $12,423↓32% | 97.5%↑9% | 89.0%↑34% | 40 |
| ECTOR COUNTY ISD | 45 | 33K | $11,870↓35% | 80.1%↓10% | 67.0% | 46 |
| DENTON ISD | 43 | 32K | $19,694↑8% | 97.1%↑9% | 49.0%↓26% | 45 |
| IRVING ISD | 38 | 31K | $12,870↓30% | 92.3% | 86.9%↑30% | 37 |
| AMARILLO ISD | 55 | 30K | $12,807↓30% | 89.0% | 71.0%↑7% | 37 |
| PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO ISD | 42 | 30K | $15,936↓13% | 98.5%↑11% | 92.5%↑39% | — |
| NORTHWEST ISD | 32 | 29K | $15,518↓15% | 95.3%↑7% | 19.7%↓71% | 43 |
| ALVIN ISD | 33 | 29K | $15,620↓15% | 94.0%↑5% | 53.6%↓20% | 39 |
| COMAL ISD | 35 | 29K | $13,262↓27% | 96.6%↑8% | 31.4%↓53% | 47 |
| MIDLAND ISD | 40 | 28K | $16,821↓8% | 89.8% | 55.3%↓17% | 49 |