HB 120

"🔴 HB 120 – Quietly Shifts Millions in Public School Funding Toward Private Vendors, Military Pipelines, and State-Controlled Programs

HB 120 says it’s about helping high school students prepare for jobs, college, or the military. And that sounds like something everyone can get behind.

But behind the feel-good framing, this bill rewires how Texas public education funding can be spent—and who controls it.

Here’s what the bill really does:

Lets school districts use K–12 education funds to pay for services after students graduate.
That includes career advising and workforce training—even if the student isn’t in high school anymore.

Creates a new military pathway grant program.
Schools get $50,000 per year to run JROTC, give every student a military aptitude test (ASVAB), and require career counseling based on those test results. There’s no mention of opt-outs for families.

Shifts control over advising and workforce alignment to the state.
The Commissioner of Education (not your local board) gets to decide the rules, metrics, and eligibility for funding. Districts can contract with outside “service providers”—with no competitive bidding or public oversight required in the bill.

Expands access to state-funded career programs for students who’ve already graduated,
as long as they’re enrolled in a qualifying employer-aligned program like P-TECH or R-PEP. These programs are often coordinated by nonprofits or regional workforce boards—some of which helped write the bill.

Who benefits from this bill?

Workforce-aligned nonprofits like The Commit Partnership and Educate Texas, who can now become paid “service providers”

Employers and industry trade groups who helped shape the training tracks and benefit from taxpayer-funded pipelines

The military, which gets expanded access to students inside public high schools without having to pay for it

The Commissioner of Education, who now has rulemaking control over millions in new advising and grant dollars

And who’s at risk of losing?

Local school boards that no longer have the final say over how these programs run

Rural districts that may be forced into private vendor contracts just to compete for funding

Parents whose kids are automatically tested and counseled toward military careers without informed consent

Taxpayers funding public education, who may not realize their money is being redirected to private pipelines and adult advising

Why this matters long-term:
HB 120 doesn’t just expand programs. It redefines what public school money can be used for. Once you allow Foundation School Program funds to follow graduates, not students—and let vendors run key services without oversight—you've broken the seal on privatized K–12 finance.

It also sets a dangerous precedent: short-term grant money (like the $2M military fund) creates permanent obligations. When the grant expires, districts are still expected to maintain the program. That’s a setup for local budget crises and forced vendor reliance.

There’s no student rights clause. No procurement guardrails. No audit requirements for the advising vendors. Just faith that it will all work out.

And once this structure is built? Future Legislatures can expand it—quietly, without public debate.

Bottom line:
HB 120 turns public schools into workforce delivery hubs for outside agendas—without clear accountability, consent, or public control. And it does it with your education dollars.

If you believe our schools should serve communities—not outside contractors or recruiting pipelines—this bill should matter to you.

🔴 #HB120 #TexasPolicy #FollowTheMoney #SchoolFundingShift

Quick ask, y’all—likes help the algorithm, but shares are what get the truth out.

If this bill affects you, your kids, your patients, your neighbors—please share it.

Too many Texans don’t know what’s being signed into law. And if we don’t share it, they won’t hear it. These bills move quietly. The consequences don’t.

It’s not about going viral. It’s about making sure the people who need to know—do know.

So if this post made you pause, think, or get fired up… don’t just like it. Send it. Share it. Say something.

We don’t get transparency unless we demand it together."