by Karlyn Keller
With the Legislature in session, it is important to stay engaged in discussions and decisions impacting the children we serve.
Chief among these is the need to take a critical look at how schools are funded for serving students with disabilities. To address this issue, the Texas Commission on Special Education Funding was created by House Bill 1525 during the last legislative session. The commission issued a series of recommendations that lawmakers are expected to consider this session.
The state’s special education allocation formula in Chapter 48 of the Texas Education Code has not substantially changed in decades. More money is being spent to serve the total number of students identified for special education due to significant enrollment increases, not because of an increase in additional funding to support each student served. The needs and intensity of services continue to ramp up while funding has remained the