SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING

Support increased funding for special education services sufficient to address the requirements of the federal government’s corrective action, including teacher training, student evaluation, and increased student services.

Bills to Watch

SB 139 - Filed on November 12, 2018.
HB 142 - Filed November 12, 2018.

BACKGROUND

• It is against federal law to limit the enrollment of students with disabilities into special education programs.

• A 2016 Houston Chronicle investigation and a subsequent federal audit found that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) set an 8.5% benchmark that was a de facto, illegal cap on the number of students receiving special education services.

• The 8.5% “target”, in place for more than a decade, is well below the national average of students served in special education programs of 13 percent.

• U.S. Department of Education issued a report demanding corrective action by TEA to eliminate the cap and to begin to provide special education services to more than 150,000 additional students by 2021.

• Estimated cost to the state: up to $3.3 billion, roughly a 30% increase.

• Without funding from the state, school districts will be forced to pay for increased services out of existing funds.

Download this information here.

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