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Parents, advocates press Legislature to close $1.7 billion special‑education funding gap as formula changes loom
Summary
Parents, disability advocates and school leaders told the Article III subcommittee the rise in special‑education enrollment after repeal of the 8.5% cap and cuts to SHARS reimbursements has produced roughly a $1.7 billion gap; witnesses urged increased special‑education allotment funding and removal of the so‑called ‘regular‑program offset.’
Parents, educators and disability advocates pressed the Article III subcommittee to fund a large shortfall in special‑education resources and to move promptly on a new service‑intensity funding model described in House Bill 2 and other bills.
Why it matters: Multiple witnesses and agency presenters said Texas’ historical special‑education funding formula, based on instructional arrangements, does not match current delivery and understates costs, so districts are using basic allotment dollars to cover special‑education services that federal law requires them to provide.
What was said: TEA and LBB briefers and several public witnesses quantified the shortfall. Commissioner Mike Morath and LBB witnesses described a “roughly $1,700,000,000 per year delta between expenditures that school systems make in special education and dedicated revenue streams that they receive,” language…
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