Legislators review draft requiring Agency of Education report, strategic plan and oversight panel before shift to weighted special-education funding

Beth St. James, counsel in the Office of Legislative Counsel, walked members of the House Ways & Means and Senate Finance committees through draft bill language that would require the Agency of Education (AOE) to produce an extensive report on special-education delivery and costs, write a three-year strategic plan, create a temporary Special Education Oversight Panel and fund an AOE staff position to implement the plan.

The draft would require AOE to submit a written report by 09/01/2025 documenting trends over the past 10 years (numbers of students with individualized education programs, average per-pupil costs by setting, staffing levels and experience, use of out-of-district specialized placements and extraordinary spending) and to recommend changes needed to manage rising extraordinary special-education costs and to support a possible transition to a weighted funding model.

St. James told the committee, "Okay. So this language starts with 3 sections," and outlined the three parts: the report, a strategic plan, and creation of an oversight panel to review and evaluate the agency's plan and implementation.

Committee members pressed for clarity on the purpose and timing of the work. Representative Holcomb said the committee needs to know how the proposal "sits in the context of the landmark of what this committee hopes to accomplish this…