Addressing student needs From the cover
Percentage of special education enrollment within total enrollment
The overview
Humble ISD
Texas
16.11%
20%
The number of students receiving special education services in Humble ISD has more than doubled over the past decade, following a larger trend seen at public school districts across the state. According to data released from the Texas Education Agency in March, HISD has seen its special education population rise from around 3,200 students in the 2015-16 school year to more than 7,800 students in the 2024-25 school year—a roughly 144% increase. TEA data shows the spike also increased the percentage of students receiving services. In the 2014-15 school year, the special education population represented roughly 7.8% of all HISD students. By the 2024-25 school year, the percentage of HISD students receiving special education services rose to around 16.1%. Statewide, the number of students receiving special education services has risen by approximately 85% over that same time frame. Jolene Sanders, advocacy director for nonprofit Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, said the sharp rise can be largely attributed to the removal of TEA restrictions that previously limited the percentage of students that school districts could designate to receive special education services at 8.5% of the district’s student population. Henry Phipps, HISD’s chief of educational support services, said he attributes the rise in HISD to several additional factors, including earlier screenings, greater public awareness of disabilities such as autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and state-mandated dyslexia screenings. Still, Phipps said he hopes the current legislative session will result in additional financial support to
15%
15.45%
8.74%
10%
5%
7.8%
0%
Special education enrollment by disability at Humble ISD
2019-20
2023-24
5,000
+50%
+165.1%
+53.5%
+113.9%
+23.5%
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
Autism Learning disability Speech impairment
Dyslexia
Other*
*OTHER DISABILITIES INCLUDE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY, DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING, VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE, AMONG OTHER DISABILITIES. SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
help address the rising costs of providing special education services. In April, state senators approved Senate Bill 568,
which would restructure the distribution of special education funding and provide a one-time sum of $125 million that would be divided among districts to address staffing needs.
Humble ISD special education funding
Special education allotment Humble ISD total special education spending
A closer look
Students with disabilities who are part of general education classrooms are calculated in the average daily attendance allotment from the state, which has been $6,160 per student since 2019, according to TEA documents. The amount the state gives for special education students is weighted differently based on the accommodations the student receives. Districts are only required to spend 55% of their special education allotment; HISD officials said it’s historically spent 100% as expenditures typically exceed the allotment. According to a 2023 report from advocacy group Disability Rights Texas, districts funded about $6.3 billion in special edu- cation programs in the 2020-21 school year despite receiving about $4 billion for these from the state.
$100M
$86M
$79.4M
$71.1M
$80M
$66.2M
$59.3M**
$62.1M
$53.4M
$60M
$50.5M
$47.1M $48.1M
$47.2M*
$39.6M
$33.1M
$51.1M*
$40M
$26.1M
$27.5M
$22.3M
$19.9M $20.7M
$20M
$19.5M
0
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22
2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
*THE SPECIAL EDUCATION ALLOTMENT FOR THE 2023-14 AND 2024-25 SCHOOL YEARS HAS NOT BEEN FINALIZED.**ACTUAL AMOUNT SPENT THROUGH APRIL 15, 2025 SOURCES: HUMBLE ISD, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT NOTE: TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS RECEIVE A SEPARATE ALLOCATION FOR DYSLEXIA SERVICES, OF WHICH THEY ARE REQUIRED TO SPEND 100%
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