AUSTIN—The Texas Legislature is moving toward giving nursing schools a boost to help cut an estimated statewide shortage of 22,000 nurses.

The House on Wednesday gave initial approval to a bill that would target state grants so nursing schools can hire more faculty.

Last year, Texas nursing schools had to turn away 8,000 qualified applicants because they didn’t have enough faculty, said Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin. Howard, a former nurse who is supporting the bill, said the highly trained nurses needed for clinical training can generally make more money working in the field.

The measure approved Wednesday is one of several aimed at solving doctor and nurse shortages around the state.