FOUNDATION SCHOOL PROGRAM. The foundation school program was established by the Gilmer-Aikin Laws in 1949. The state distributes funds from the Available School Fund to local school districts through the two-tiered program. Tier One of the FSP provides funds to meet the costs of basic education programs that meet state accreditation standards. Tier Two provides schools with equal access to revenue for educational enrichment. Both tiers contain a state and local share, with the latter depending on the property wealth of each district. Under Tier One of FSP, additional funding is made available to school districts for special, vocational, compensatory, bilingual, and gifted and talented programs. In 1993 the state spent close to $7 billion on the public schools. This constituted roughly 48 percent of revenues generated for public schools. The remaining $7.1 billion came from local tax revenues.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up of Texas State Services, 1992-1993 Biennium (Austin, 1993). Rae Files Still, The Gilmer-Aikin Bills (Austin: Steck, 1950).
