Senate advances revised Special Needs Scholarship but rejects some proposals to extend sibling preference

Third substitute Senate Bill 62 — changes to the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship program — drew the chamber’s longest debate of the evening before the Senate advanced the measure under suspension of the rules.

Senator Fillmore, the bill’s floor sponsor, described technical amendments that he said tighten program operations (including a tax carry‑back to help donors calculate liability, clarifications about how private schools make determinations and definitions around eligibility). He also proposed expanding the program to allow a sibling preference in some cases while ensuring that any sibling would not "jump the line" ahead of a student with a qualifying disability, a change he said would keep families together while preserving priority for students with disabilities.

The proposal prompted sustained…