Lottery prize payouts would be capped so more ticket money goes to schools and teacher pay
What it does
HB 924 would cap lottery prize payouts at 60 percent of gross revenue from covered ticket sales each state fiscal year and require the comptroller to send at least 30 percent of that gross revenue to the foundation school fund. Money above the greater of 25 percent of gross statewide ticket sales for the year or the transfers made for the 2026 state fiscal year would be set aside for classroom teacher salary supplements. The Texas Education Agency would then pay school districts and open-enrollment charter schools a single rate per full-time equivalent classroom teacher, added on top of regular pay, and a district would have to put the supplement in writing as a term of employment before the teacher starts the year. The new rules start with the 2028 state fiscal year and the 2028-2029 school year, and they apply only while the state lottery is authorized by law.
What it means for your community
Teachers would see a salary supplement added on top of regular pay if the state certifies and appropriates the money, and your district would have to offer it in writing before the teacher starts the year. Local school districts would receive this money through the state on the Foundation School Program schedule, so your district would not set the rate itself. The bill also ends sales of instant-ticket runs first offered before September 1, 2027, by August 31, 2028, while still honoring the prize structure on tickets already sold. If the lottery is abolished by law, the new sections and any unspent money for the pay supplements would lapse.
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