Special Education
Laws & News
Across the States
TX: Mother of special needs child reports challenges getting paperwork for $30,000 school voucher
CBS Texas
Applications are open for families wanting to apply for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), but some students with special needs are having difficulty getting a new Individualized Education Program (IEP) to receive the largest voucher. Students with special needs are eligible for a voucher up to $30,000. Per TEFA guidelines, whether the student is already a private school attendee or making the switch, they must obtain a new IEP from a local public school district. Many districts across the state already have a backlog of IEPs they are working on for public school students. Add in private school students needing new IEPS for vouchers, and some parents say it’s created a headache. There are concerns that IEPs will not be completed by the March 17 deadline for TEFA applications. If an IEP is not completed in time, families will not be able to obtain the full $30,000 voucher.
TX: As charters grow, HISD serves more students with disabilities
Houston Chronicle
Charter schools now account for one-third of public campuses in Houston ISD’s boundaries, a new report shows, contributing to the rapidly declining enrollment that is prompting officials to call for the closure of a dozen HISD campuses. Additionally, HISD has been left with a higher share of students with costly special education needs, straining the district’s finances, according to the report by the Texas Education Leadership Lab at the University of Texas at Austin.
NM: New Mexico lawmakers debate bills on special education, student restraint
Santa Fe New Mexican
New Mexico lawmakers are taking another pass at two measures that have stalled in previous years but that, supporters say, are critical to protecting vulnerable children and fixing the state’s special education system. Senate Bill 64 would formally codify the Office of Special Education in state statute, embedding it within the Public Education Department and centralizing oversight of special education services statewide. And House Bill 120 would more tightly regulate the use of restraint and seclusion in schools — emergency interventions used when a student’s behavior presents what staff determine to be imminent physical danger to the student or others. Such restraints are most frequently used on special education students. The two bills have passed the Senate and House, respectively, and are working their way through committees in the other chamber.
TX: Austin ISD Exits State Oversight of Special Education Services
Austin Today
After three years of state oversight, Austin Independent School District has regained control of its special education services. The Texas Education Agency had stepped in after an investigation revealed non-compliance with state mandates and a backlog of over 600 special education evaluations. To exit state oversight, AISD completed thousands of evaluations, established district-wide standards, and hosted family engagement sessions.
AZ: Voters could have say on reforms for controversial ESA program
ABC15
Several education groups and advocates have come together through a coalition and filed a petition to put reforms on the state’s controversial Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program, or ESA. ESA advocates say these reforms are unnecessary, feeling like the program is already transparent and accountable. Since the program became universal in 2022, criticisms have followed, some saying that the program is unaccounted for and is ripe with fraud. Several
CA: How the governor’s budget proposal addresses rising numbers of students in special education
EdSource
Student enrollment has been declining in the McFarland Unified School District, so Superintendent Aaron Resendez was surprised to start this school year with an uptick in students who require special education services. The 3,282-student district in rural Kern County needed to act quickly to meet the needs of these students. Resendez said the district scrambled to find two teachers, paraprofessionals, and accessible classrooms for students with moderate to severe needs. “We had far more students with special needs enroll at the lower grade levels than we anticipated,” said Resendez. “We ended up adding two more classes.”
What’s happening in McFarland Unified is happening in districts across the state. Even as enrollment declines in California, an increasing number of students are qualifying for special education services. Educators and researchers chalk up the increase in students requiring special education services to several factors: improved identification because of advocacy and reduced stigma, a rise in the number of students with emotional or behavioral disabilities, and pandemic disruptions that may have delayed early interventions.
FL: Cameras in special education classrooms move ahead
News From The States
Special education rooms could feature cameras watching over students if Florida lawmakers keep up support for a bipartisan bill. The legislation seeks to provide an objective eye in situations in which students, particularly those who are nonverbal, might be abused or mistreated. The House bill, HB 859, sponsored by Reps. Chase Tramont, a Republican from Port Orange, and Kevin Chambliss, a Democrat from Homestead, passed its first committee last week and second committee on Wednesday. It has one committee to go before landing before the full House.
The Senate bill, SB 1170, is sponsored by Sen. Alexis Calatayud, a Republican from Miami. The Senate version was approved by the first of three committees on Tuesday. The legislation would let parents ask principals to install video cameras in classrooms in which a majority of the students are receiving special education services.
GA: Georgia seeing a surge in special education complaints
Atlanta News First
A growing number of Georgia parents allege their school districts are violating the law by failing to provide required special education services, according to an Atlanta News First investigation. Georgia Department of Education records show formal complaints against school districts have more than doubled in recent years, from 156 in 2021 to 318 last year. In fiscal year 2025, the state found districts were out of compliance 190 times. The surge in complaints reflects several concerning trends identified by the Georgia Department of Education’s dispute resolution division. A 2025 presentation produced by the division showed more complaints are being filed by current school staff; more complaints are being filed in districts that historically had few complaints; and more complaints involve multiple students, indicating systemic issues.
The most common violations found in fiscal year 2025 involved the provision of a free appropriate public education; implementation of individualized education programs; and development, review, and revision of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
ID: As Legislature mulls Medicaid cuts, parents and providers face uncertainty
Idaho News
Parents of children with disabilities are concerned and wondering what will happen to their kids as the Legislature mulls Gov. Brad Little’s recommendation to cut $22 million in Medicaid spending. Angela Lindig, executive director of the nonprofit Idaho Parents Unlimited, said she’s been fielding calls from parents of young children who rely on school-based Medicaid services and from parents of adult children who wonder what will happen when they can no longer care for their dependent children. “Our families are concerned,” Lindig told EdNews Monday. “They are worried about the services that their children may not receive. They’re worried about their child’s Medicaid being cut. They’re worried about them not receiving services in school. They’re worried about their kids’ future.”
LA: St. Tammany illegally shortened school days for student with disabilities, lawsuit claims
Verite News New Orleans
The family of a special needs student in St. Tammany Parish has filed a federal lawsuit against the parish school board and the school district’s superintendent, Frank Jabbia, saying that the district inappropriately shortened the child’s school days to two hours, depriving him of more than two-thirds of instructional time during the 2024-2025 school year compared to other students. The lawsuit alleges that the decision prevented the child — who for months spent his shortened school days in a specialty classroom isolated from other students — from access to equal education, violating longstanding federal special education laws.