Texas House Plans to Examine Special Education
These interim charges reflect some loose ends left during the regular session, such as questions around whether to include students with disabilities in the eligibility categories for free pre-K and numerous questions that lawmakers raised about the rapidly rising numbers of students with disabilities in Texas schools.
Stay tuned for updates on upcoming hearings and opportunities to submit comments and testimony.
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Nearly 33K TEFA Applicants Indicate Disability
Students with disabilities from low- to moderate-income households (up to 500% of federal poverty level) receive first priority in the TEFA lottery process if demand exceeds available funding. It is not a guarantee of acceptance. TEFA says only students with an IEP on file with TEA who are accepted into the program are eligible for the increased disability funding amount, which is up to $30,000.
Among the 24% of applicants using alternative documentation, 66% submitted a disability certification form, 21% submitted a full individual and initial evaluation, 10% submitted an expired IEP and 3% submitted an out-of-state IEP.
The fact sheet says 77% of applicants identified private school as the planned setting for 2026-27, while 23% identified homeschool or other. Application counts were highest in Pre-K at 32,018 and kindergarten at 23,108.
By region, the largest application totals have come from Region 4 with 56,821, Region 10 with 43,628, Region 11 with 34,100, Region 20 with 28,798 and Region 13 with 21,631. The fact sheet labels the figures as preliminary and based on information reported in student applications.
The state labels the figures preliminary and based on information reported in student applications by March 22. We expect new data after the application window closes on March 31, and will then follow along as the Comptroller’s office prioritizes voucher recipients since the pool of applicants appears to exceed what funding is anticipated to cover.
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Lt Governor Announces Committee Assignments
Patrick replaced the Senate K-16 Education Committee with two separate committees, one for K-12 education and another for higher education. Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) will chair the Senate Education Committee for K-12 alongside vice-chair Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston). Campbell is the former vice-chair of the committee. Bettencourt will also chair the higher education committee.
An emergency room doctor, Campbell has served in the Texas Senate since 2013. Campbell has authored bills relating to parental permission for human sexuality coursework and the display of founding documents in public schools.
The Senate Education committee will have two fewer members. Former Chairman Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) took a position as the Texas Tech University System chancellor. Another former committee member, Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) gave up his senate seat to run for Attorney General of Texas and is now competing in the Republican primary runoff for that office.