Education
Karen Garza, chief nancial ocer for Conroe ISD, said legislative aid could provide $2.5 million for special education evaluation costs in the district in 2025-26, but it will need to look to future legislative sessions for more aid for its growing special education program. CISD’s special education student population grew 22% from 2023-24 to 2024-25 while overall enrollment increased less than 1% in that time, from 72,352 to 72,914 students. House Bill 2, a piece of state legislation which was signed into law June 4, will provide $850 million statewide to support special education programs in the next two years. However, district ocials said the total amount it will receive has not yet been determined. According to a June 24 presentation, CISD could see an allotment of $1,000 per Full and Individual Initial Evaluation, or FIE, to oset special education costs, totaling about $2.5 million. The 2025-26 budget had not been nalized as of press time but included $5.97 million for 95 more special education teachers. Special education growth outpaces expected HB 2 aid
Special education student enrollment in Conroe ISD
+111.44%
12,000
10,000
11,236
8,000
9,192
6,000
7,230
6,356
5,857
5,808
4,000
5,314
2,000
0
2018-19
2019-20 2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
Special education teacher positions in Conroe ISD
1,000
+36.33%
800
600
694
683*
641
603
574
550
400
501
200
0
2018-19
2019-20 2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
*202425 VALUE PROVIDED BY CONROE ISD. DISTRICT NUMBERS MAY DIFFER FROM TEA REPORTS.
NOTE: NUMBERS HAVE BEEN ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST WHOLE NUMBER.
SOURCES: CONROE ISD, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY£COMMUNITY IMPACT
What they’re saying
Some context
Michael Holland, executive director of the Region 6 Education Service Center which provides services for school districts including CISD, said FIEs for students can range from $1,000-$4,000 depending on the type of evaluation. He said the additional $1,000 reimbursement will help oset that cost, but many other expenses remain for districts to contend with, such as overtime and part-time work. “The cost of providing special education ser- vices for the [local education agencies] in Region 6 can be extensive,” Holland said. “[Districts] struggle with the cost of having to contract many of the services for the students they teach.” However, other increases provided by HB 2 may help to oset costs in other ways, Holland said. HB 2 will also provide permanent raises for educators and support sta and set aside money for schools to spend on xed costs, such as utilities and insurance. Garza said while HB 2 funding will help address
HB 2’s special education provisions HB 2 outlines new funding and provisions for special education. $850 million in new funding allocated to districts $1,000 for each child’s initial special education evaluation Allocates resources based on students’ individual needs, rather than where they receive services
“The Legislature did make some meaningful progress, ... although not to the extent that we had hoped.” KAREN GARZA,
CONROE ISD CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCYCOMMUNITY IMPACT
“The increase in teacher pay ... will also assist ... in the recruitment and retention of quality sta .”
some of the district’s funding challenges, it is not comprehensive in its scope. “One of the areas that we were most ... disap- pointed with was the special education funding that we received,” she said Aug. 6. “It did help to close the gap somewhat, but certainly not to the extent that we had hoped.”
MICHAEL HOLLAND, REGION 6 EDUCATION SERVICE CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
38
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook