Special Education
Laws & News
Across the States
AZ: Arizona students with disabilities fuel rapid growth in billion-dollar ESA voucher program
12news.com
A 12News investigation found the number of special education students receiving Empowerment Scholarship Accounts has tripled in four years, with several families receiving more than $30,000 annually. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program was created to give children with disabilities access to educational services that public schools could not provide. Fifteen years later, students with disabilities remain at the center of the program — but they are also fueling one of its fastest-growing and most expensive trends. 12News Investigates, using public records from the Arizona Department of Education, found that the number of students with disabilities receiving ESA vouchers for private or home schooling has tripled over the past four years, growing from about 7,000 students to more than 21,000. That’s a 200 percent increase — far higher than the growth in other state programs for children with disabilities, according to a top state official. The increase followed the Legislature’s 2022 decision to expand ESA eligibility to every K-12 student in Arizona. And one national school choice researcher found that Arizona has the fewest restrictions in the country on voucher students receiving top-dollar awards. Students without disabilities generally receive between $7,000 and $10,000 a year through the “universal” voucher program. And students who qualify with disabilities can receive more than $30,000 annually, with the largest award approaching $48,000, state records show.
CA: California increases special education funding by $2.4B
Sacramento Bee
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday that includes a $2.4 billion increase for special education programs in California schools, calling the budget a step toward improving services for students across the state.
“The investments now are about to take place and shape to answer the concern that these are dollars moving forward. I can’t make up for the past,” Newsom said during a news conference. “We’ve been muddling along, doing better than we were in the past,” Newsom said. He acknowledged concerns that rising special education costs were helping push districts such as Sacramento City Unified toward fiscal insolvency, an indication that the state’s previous efforts were “not good enough.”
NH: New Hampshire’s new special education aid formula, explained
New Hampshire Bulletin
New Hampshire schools could eventually receive millions of dollars more in state aid for costly special education services, under a new state law. But for districts, the assistance comes with a catch: a mountain of new paperwork. House Bill 1563, which Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed this month, broadens eligibility for New Hampshire’s special education aid program, allowing schools to seek partial state reimbursement for a new tier of special education costs. The law does not take effect until July 2028. Supporters say it will help curb a budgetary problem growing in New Hampshire and beyond: rising special education costs that are hitting local taxpayers. But the law also includes new accountability metrics for schools designed to ensure special education funding is being spent appropriately, and some worry the additional compliance could be costly.
NC: Feds say NC special education still needs improvement. What they say still isn’t working
WRAL.com
Special education services still aren’t adequate in North Carolina’s public schools, according to a new federal report. The report, conducted earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Education and noticed in June, is the latest to label state’s special education services as in need of assistance and oversight from the federal government — a designation the department has held several times over the past decade.
The assessment, which examined the 2024-25 school year, faults the state’s public schools for several things:
- not evaluating students for a disability and setting an individualized education plan (IEP) for them, if needed, in a timely manner (74%).
- students with disabilities performing worse on exams than the year before, especially students of color.
- not making individualized special education plans in time for preschoolers.
- inadequately preparing older students for life after high school.
- inadequately surveying families for satisfaction and former students for their post-school outcomes.
- not resolving all findings of noncompliance within a year.
Many are repeat concerns. Families of and advocates for students with disabilities say it’s the result of underfunding, a scenario affecting more than 200,000 students in North Carolina. “The system is under enormous strain,” Christopher Roe, director of state policy at the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, told WRAL in an interview.
PA: Public education investments passed by the General Assembly
PoliticsPA
The PA House and Senate have passed legislation (H.B. 1505), sponsored by state Rep. Liz Hanbidge (D-Montgomery), that implements key education investments included in the 2026-27 state budget while strengthening access to early childhood education across Pennsylvania.
House Bill 1505 also authorizes significant investments in public education, including:
- $565 million in adequacy and tax equity funding, ensuring every school district receives at least a $50,000 increase, consistent with last year’s investment.
- $100 million for school safety and mental health grants for public schools.
- $20.7 million in targeted school safety grants for nonpublic schools.
- A $58 million increase in Basic Education Funding.
- A $55 million increase in Special Education Funding, including $5 million dedicated to extraordinary special education expenses at brick-and-mortar charter schools.
- A $10 million increase for Career and Technical Education.
TX: TEA orders HISD to review special education overhaul after violations found
Yahoo News
A Texas Education Agency investigation found Houston ISD violated federal requirements for students with disabilities, forcing the district to review thousands of students’ individualized education plans before it overhauls special education. The district’s plan, which would send about 5,000 students with disabilities to new campuses, sparked multiple complaints from Houston families and a federal investigation into potential discrimination. The agency has ordered HISD to review individualized education programs for affected students, including any “potential harmful effects of any proposed placement;” meet with families to review changes before moving campuses; and offer training to all district-level special education staff. Parent Stefanie Naranjo filed a complaint with the state after her son learned in May he was reassigned to another school next year – even though his individualized education program said he would attend his current campus, Sinclair Elementary. He was among about 5,000 students with disabilities who received abrupt reassignments. In response to her complaint, the TEA ordered HISD to take corrective action for Naranjo’s child and make “systemic corrections for all students with disabilities” in the district. It warned that it may impose more sanctions if HISD fails to comply.
TX: HISD will continue special education overhaul. Experts say its plan conflicts with state orders.
Yahoo News
Before Houston ISD can consolidate its special education services, it has to review thousands of students’ individualized education programs and meet with their families. That’s the explicit order from the Texas Education Agency, which investigated the district’s plans. But HISD said it is already reviewing student records and plans to meet with families as needed during the school year – after it moves students with disabilities to new campuses. The district’s response has concerned some families who still hope to block the district’s special education overhaul and remain at their original campuses when school starts in August. Experts say HISD’s plans seem to contradict the state’s order and could trigger further sanctions, even as the district remains under a state takeover and conservatorship.
FL: In Florida, swim lessons for kids with autism aim to curb deaths
NPR
Mackenzie Wesley sports a big grin and bright blue Lilo & Stitch swim gear as she runs into her weekly swim lessons. It’s fitting, because the 5-year-old has something in common with movie character Lilo: She adores water. “Whether it’s the pool or beach, she enjoys it fully,” says her dad Steven Wesley. Mackenzie isn’t alone: Many kids with autism share a natural love for water because it can be sensory bliss — the feeling on their skin, the pressure and the sparkle of the water can all be soothing. Lucky for her, Mackenzie lives here, less than an hour outside of Miami in a state that’s dotted with bodies of water. But there’s a tragic reality tied to that fact, as Mackenzie’s mom, Brittany Bucknor, is all too aware. “In Florida, there’s water everywhere, and also with kids her age, and also just being on the spectrum, it’s a very — way higher — rate of having an incident of drowning.” Kids with autism are 160 times more likely than other children to die from drowning, according to a seminal 2017 study from Columbia University.
CA: Bakersfield mothers continue their fight for cameras to be installed in special education classrooms
KERO
Mothers with special needs children part of the Bakersfield City School District took to a recent board meeting to present 5,000 signatures asking for cameras to be placed in special ed classrooms.
CT: Special education complaints increasing in CT. ‘Things are tough’
Hartford Courant
After a special education student in Seymour Public Schools was restrained and secluded 53 times in seven months, the child’s parents filed an official state complaint. The state determined that in two of the 53 occasions, it was “unclear” if physical restraints were necessary, according to documents obtained by the CT Mirror. As a result of the complaint, the district was required to provide a training for staff who interact with the student. That was one of 267 complaints filed in Connecticut last year and a part of a growing trend: More parents of special education students in Connecticut and across the nation are engaging in the formal dispute resolution process in special education. Experts say it could point to a heightened understanding of special education law — and some say parents’ use of artificial intelligence could play a role.