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Lawmakers consider lowering threshold for state high‑cost special‑education aid amid data shortfalls
Summary
Committee considered drafts to lower the threshold for state special‑education aid from the current ~3.5× per‑pupil measure toward 1.5× or phased reductions. Sponsors argued the change would protect small districts from catastrophic costs; witnesses urged staged implementation, better DOE data and care on caps and Medicaid offsets.
The committee spent the largest portion of the Jan. 14 hearing on special‑education funding — two interrelated bills (including HB 1557 and HB 1563) that would reduce the threshold at which state catastrophic/special‑education aid begins. Representative Wallner framed the bills as a way to reduce proration and state‑local risk: current law often requires districts to absorb very large one‑off costs (residential placements can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars). Wallner proposed lowering the multiplier that triggers state aid or using a fixed dollar threshold (for example, $60,000) and a tiered sharing structure so the state…
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