Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee sets 80% proration floor for catastrophic special-education aid in HB 773 amendment
Summary
The committee blended provisions to preserve the 3.5x threshold for catastrophic aid and to set an 80% floor for payments in years of shortfall, with a statutory backstop drawing from the Education Trust Fund. The amendment passed and the bill was reported OTPA.
The House Education Committee approved an amendment to HB 773 that retains the 3.5-times-average-cost threshold for catastrophic special-education aid and establishes an 80% proration floor if appropriations fall short.
Representative Spilsbury explained that the amendment (0714H) combines language from two bills to preserve the existing threshold in current law while deleting an automatic proration sentence. The new language requires the state to fund at least 80% of the formula in the event of a shortfall; it also provides a process to draw on the Education Trust Fund and, if necessary, the general fund as a backstop.
“...this basically places a floor of 80% and says the state will back up at least to 80%,” Spilsbury said while walking the committee through the amendment. Representative Luno said he would have preferred a higher floor but supported the 80% improvement over the current 0% floor.
Committee members discussed how the appropriation and the Education Trust Fund interact: the text ties the appropriation language to a follow-on draw from the Education Trust Fund if claims exceed the amount appropriated for distribution. Members said the amendment increases predictability for districts that incur catastrophic costs but does not eliminate the possibility of proration entirely.
Representative Damon called the change “a considerable improvement in predictability” but noted districts still could pay more than expected in some circumstances. Several members highlighted the need for better data and a subcommittee to examine special-education reporting and IEP consistency.
The amendment vote and the OTPA motion both passed on unanimous recorded roll-call votes.
Votes at a glance: amendment 0714H passed (18-0); OTPA on HB 773 as amended passed (18-0).
Committee sponsors said they intend to pursue longer-term reporting and auditing improvements to better align funding with actual special-education costs.
