HB 1525 (87th Texas Legislature) established the Texas Commission on Special Education Funding, which was tasked with developing and making legislative recommendations for methods of financing special education in public schools. The commissioner of education held eight hearings and devised three formula-based funding recommendations and 11 non-formula-based funding recommendations.
There was consensus on several recommendations, including moving from funding special education based on student placement to funding based on service intensity.
Three members of the committee had dissenting opinions, especially regarding recommendation 14, which calls for the establishment of “Education Savings Accounts” for families to access education services outside of the public education system.
See Appendix A of the full report for letters from commission members Rep. Mary E. González, Ph.D., Rep. Dan Huberty, and Sen. Judith Zaffirini that outline their opposition to a voucher that would divert money from General Revenue after the commission findings show that the state has been underfunding local educational agencies by more than $1.8 billion.
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