Committee hears broad testimony on special-education funding; bills would boost high-cost disability money and remove 11% cap

The House Committee on Revenue held an informational session and public hearing March 13 focused on K-12 school funding equalization and special-education weights. Committee staff and Oregon Department of Education analysts presented data showing an increase in identified students with disabilities and a funding gap for high-cost special-education services; dozens of parents, teachers, school leaders and disability advocates testified in support of legislation to increase funding.

Representative Courtney Neron, sponsor of House Bill 2448A, told the committee: "This bill'increases the annual transfer to the high cost disabilities fund from the state school fund from $55,000,000 to $155,000,000." She also said the bill would increase the general fund appropriation to the State School Fund from $150,000,000 to $200,000,000. Neron framed the request as aimed at ensuring districts can meet legal obligations and provide services "without having those needs denied because of costs."

Legislative staff and ODE staff provided the committee's technical briefing. Dave Beck of the Legislative Writing Office summarized how equalization formulas and special-education weights work and said the committee's presentation focused on a subset of the formula: "Students with disabilities ... identified students with disabilities ... 81,257," and that currently about 66,000 students are receiving the…