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Panel proposed to study special-education costs, categories and processes; interim report due November
Summary
A revised House bill would create a commission to study rising special-education costs, Medicaid billing practices, categorization rates and use of legal services; sponsors said an interim report is expected in November and final repeal is scheduled after the commission completes work in July 2026.
House Bill 431, as amended, would establish a statutory commission to study several aspects of special education including cost drivers, student-categorization rates, Medicaid school billing practices and how districts use insurance or contract for legal services in Individualized Education Program (IEP) and due process settings.
Representative Glenn Cordelli introduced the amended bill to the Senate Education Committee. Cordelli told the committee the commission would examine (1) why the share of students identified for special education has risen as overall enrollment has declined, (2) billing practices under the Medicaid schools program — including use of third-party billers and the share of reimbursements going to districts versus contractors — and (3) whether districts are using insurance to contract for legal representation at IEP meetings and due process hearings and, if so, the scale of those costs.
Senators and other lawmakers asked how the commission would access data without violating family privacy under federal IDEA protections and whether specific interventions such as multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) should be included in the study. Representative Cordelli and Representative Hope Damon Sullivan, who said the amended language is no longer her bill, said they expect the commission to pursue aggregated data and clarified the intent is not to obtain individually identifiable records. Cordelli noted the commission would issue an interim report in November identifying areas for possible legislation and a final report in July 2026; the statutory language as introduced included a sunset to repeal the commission after that date.
Representative Damon Sullivan, who said she was not the sponsor of the amended language and that much of the amendment overlaps with work already underway by a House Education Funding subcommittee, expressed concern about duplication of effort and emphasized privacy and ethical handling of family data. Other senators pressed for clarity on measures the commission would use (counts, dollars spent, frequency of legal representation) and how those measures would be aggregated.
No members of the public offered testimony opposed to the amended bill during this hearing. The committee closed the hearing on House Bill 431.
