The $7.8 billion school funding bill proposed by the Texas Senate and agreed to by the governor and House speaker is the largest infusion of new dollars into public education in the state’s history, said state Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican who authored the package, in a legislative hearing on Thursday.

The proposal would heavily invest in teacher pay and special education. It includes a modest $55 increase to schools' base per-student funding, significantly lower than what the House had sought.

With just over two weeks left in the legislative session, Texas senators have introduced their version of the sweeping public school funding bill, House Bill 2, which diverges significantly from the House's proposal passed in April.