House counteroffer trims higher-education grants; advocates urge preserving spinal cord injury research funding

On May 17, 2025 the House fiscal committee released a counteroffer to ongoing budget negotiations with the Senate that reduces several higher-education grant line items and proposes savings to the spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury (SCI/TBI) research grant program. Advocates told the panel the program has helped catalyze clinical trials and private investment and urged lawmakers to preserve current funding and the program’s placement in the Office of Higher Education.

House fiscal staff member Ken Savory walked members through a spreadsheet of the counteroffer, highlighting multiple line-item changes. The House’s offer reduces the state grant allocation to $50,968,000 in fiscal 2026–27 and to $34,302,000 in the tails, and moves childcare grants to $1,000,000 in each of fiscal 2026–29. The House aligned with the Senate on student teacher and shortage-area grants at $500,000 in fiscal 2026–29, and proposed a $4,000,000 savings for the student parent support initiative in fiscal 2026–29.

Savory…