Cy-Fair ISD requests more special education funding From the cover
The overview
Cy-Fair ISD special education enrollment Cy-Fair ISD Texas
14%
About 14% of CFISD’s 118,000 students—over 16,000 students—are receiving special education services in the 2024-25 school year, according to district data. This percentage nearly doubled from 7.3% a decade ago. Eligibility criteria may include a child having autism spectrum disorder, an intellectual disability, a health impairment, emotional disturbance, a speech or language impairment, a vision or hearing impairment, or a specic learning disability, according to the district. Texas has expanded how many students qualify for special education and added dyslexia and dysgraphia to the eligibility criteria, Macias said. Statewide, there’s been a 71% increase in special education students since 2014-15, according to the TEA, which advocacy groups said has created
15%
8.6%
10%
13%
5%
7.3%
0%
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCYCOMMUNITY IMPACT
The state funds special education services based on the number of special education students and the instructional setting—such as a general education classroom, resource classroom, self- contained classroom or homebound instruction.
funding challenges for many districts. “The current funding model has been in place since the 1990s and does not consider the intensity or specialized services required,” CFISD trustee Justin Ray said at the Oct. 7 board meeting.
Diving in deeper
By the numbers
piloted a paid teacher residency program with 43% of enrollees completing their residency in a special education classroom. “We’ve had signicant underfunding of our special education services within Texas and within the district, and there’s a signicant shortage of special education teachers and para- professionals,” trustee Julie Hinaman said at the Nov. 11 board meeting. “They require advanced certications, additional paperwork, and they really need additional support. It’s demanding work physically, mentally and emotionally.”
The spike in special education students in recent years has increased demand for the already small pool of teachers qualied to serve them, said Deborah Stewart, chief employee and student services o cer for CFISD. This is a critical teacher shortage area at both the state and federal levels. Stewart said heavier workloads due to increased state and federal documentation requirements have also made retention a challenge. To help recruit special education certication candidates to the district, she said CFISD has
For scal year 2024-25, CFISD o cials esti- mate the state will only cover about 48.56% of the district’s total special education expenses compared to 60.65% on average over the past decade. Smith said special education services weren’t aected by the district’s 2024-25 budget cuts approved in June, but additional cuts could be on the way for other departments if the funding model isn’t updated.
Funding special education services
State funding Local funding Total expenses
Cy-Fair ISD special education students vs. stang
$0
$50M $100M $150M $200M
Special education students
Special education employees
$84.5M
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2024-25* 2023-24
$91.5M
20K
+85.7%
$96.4M $97.9M
15K
$105.4M
10K
$117.5M
+69.55%
5K
$125.7M
$138.5M
0
$157M
$184.8M
*THE TOTAL STAFF COUNT FOR THE 202324 SCHOOL YEAR HAS NOT BEEN FINALIZED.
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: CYFAIR ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
*PROJECTED
12
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