Texas

Texas, which entered the union as an independent republic, had no federal lands within its borders, so there were no federal lands to grant to the schools. They granted themselves lands in the Texas Constitution of 1845 and dedicated over 42 million acres to support public schools. The Texas General Land Office manages the lands. Just 750,000 surface acres remain in the trust and another 13 million acres of mineral lands. Mineral revenues from oil and gas are the primary sources of revenue to the trust. However, surface revenue contributes as well.

Also established in connection with the trust was a permanent fund where, in addition to revenue from lands sales, they also dedicated one-tenth of the state taxes to the fund. By 1906, Texas had the largest permanent fund, and has maintained that dominance to this day by strict adherence to trust principles and commitment to the preservation of the permanent fund, as evidenced by the absence of raids on the fund. The fund balance in FY 2006 was $22 billion and is managed by the Texas Education Agency. The education budgets of Texas rely on the revenue stream generated by the school trust that distributed $841.8 million in FY 2006.

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