From Projects to Trust Funds: When Policy Becomes Permanence.

Feb 14
4 min read

The Texas Permanent School Fund and the Quiet Power of Land

I have been sitting with the Texas Permanent School Fund, and the more I study it, the more I realize it is not just “education finance.” It is a constitutional decision about what Texas believes education deserves.

The Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) is not a discretionary pot of money that can be redirected on a whim. Its existence, its purpose, and the basic rules that govern how it functions are written into the Texas State Constitution, Article VII, Section 5.

That matters because it means the fund is anchored in the state’s highest legal framework. It is designed to outlive politics, outlast trends, and keep working even when budgets get tight.

Land is not symbolic here. It is the engine.

Here is the part that makes Texas unusually powerful in this space: the PSF is tied to land, and not just land as a concept, but land as an actual revenue-producing asset.

The Texas General Land Office explains this plainly: one of its responsibilities is leasing the state’s land and mineral holdings for energy and mineral development, and the proceeds go into the PSF to help finance K through 12 education.

So this is not merely a portfolio of stocks and bonds. It is also a pipeline from sovereign assets into school funding.

And the scale is not small. The Texas General Land Office oversees approximately thirteen million acres of PSF land.

That is leverage.

Because land produces value in multiple ways:

leasing rights for energy and mineral development
royalties tied to production
bonus payments and rentals associated with leases
and then, separately, investment growth once those proceeds are placed into the fund’s financial portfolio

What did land and minerals generate for the PSF last year?

In the Texas Permanent School Fund Corporation Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for fiscal year ended August 31, 2025, the report notes:

The School Land Board distributed $1,009,153,366.47 in land endowment income to Texas PSF during fiscal year 2025, reported as “Contributions to Endowment.”
That same ACFR also describes $845.6 million in mineral income received from the School Land Board during the fiscal year.

So if you are telling the story cleanly, you can say:

In FY2025, roughly $1.009 billion flowed into the PSF from land endowment income, and within the fiscal year narrative the fund reports $845.6 million in mineral income received from the School Land Board.

That is what it looks like when the value of land and what lies under it is converted into education stability.

Graduation is a pivot point.

Because stability at the K through 12 level is foundational. But it is not the end of the story.

If the PSF protects the foundation, what protects the transition?

Graduation is not just a ceremony. It is a financial cliff for many students.

The Bridge: Say Yes Cleveland

In Cleveland, for example, Say Yes Cleveland was created as a public private partnership to ensure that tuition would not be the barrier for public school graduates. Its scholarship model is commonly described as “last dollar.”

Last dollar means that federal and state grants are applied first. After Pell Grants and other aid are calculated, Say Yes covers the remaining tuition balance. The effect is not simply financial. It is structural.

It extends the public education pipeline into postsecondary access.

The PSF secures the base.

Say Yes extends the arc.

Foster Youth and the ETV Vulnerability

The Education and Training Voucher program, commonly referred to as ETV, exists because foster youth often do not have family-based financial safety nets. ETV provides financial assistance for postsecondary education and workforce training.

But before recent reform efforts, ETV carried a structural vulnerability.

Although funding was available, the allowable use of those funds was largely tied to institutions participating in federal Title IV financial aid programs. If a program was not Title IV eligible, traditional federal aid could not be used there.

The funding existed. The flexibility did not.

Recognizing this gap, Congressman OH-7 Max Miller introduced the Foster Youth Workforce Opportunity Act to expand the allowable uses of ETV funds.

The intent was to allow foster youth to use Education and Training Vouchers for a broader range of workforce training programs, including short term credentials, vocational pathways, apprenticeships, and remedial education.

From Classroom to Career

Now step back and look at the pipeline.

The Texas Permanent School Fund converts sovereign land and mineral assets into K through 12 stability.

Say Yes Cleveland converts community investment into tuition continuity.

ETV converts federal policy into targeted mobility for youth without safety nets.

When ETV’s vulnerability is addressed, the pipeline strengthens.

The foundation is protected, bridges are built and the pathway extends into the preservation of access to unique professions.

And when foster youth are intentionally included in that architecture, mobility is no longer theoretical. It becomes structurally supported from classroom to career.

That is the vision!

Transcending our "projects" into permanent "trust funds" models that will outlive us and benefit those we may never be privileged to meet in our lifetime.

This is the move.

References:

Texas Constitution art. VII, § 5. (1876). Permanent school fund and available school fund. Texas Legislature Online. https://tea.texas.gov/state-board-of-education/sboe-meetings/statutory-citations/article-7-sec-5-amended.pdf
Texas Permanent School Fund Corporation. (2025). Annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2025. https://texaspsf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-ACFR-Texas-Permanent-School-Fund-Corporation_a11y.pdf
Texas General Land Office. (n.d.). Energy resources and revenue for the Permanent School Fund. https://www.glo.texas.gov/archive-collections/energy-resources-records
Say Yes Cleveland. (n.d.). Scholarship program overview. https://sayyescleveland.org
Miller, M. (2024). Congressman Max Miller introduces Foster Youth Workforce Opportunity Act to expand education and training vouchers [Press release]. U.S. House of Representatives. https://maxmiller.house.gov/posts/congressman-max-miller-introduces-foster-youth-workforce-opportunity-act-to-expand-education-and-training-vouchers
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood. Administration for Children and Families. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/programs/chafee
U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Federal student aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. https://studentaid.gov