Texas: "Since 2014, number of special education students almost doubled"

Mar 9, 2026, How much does Texas spend on special education services?

During the 2025 legislative session, Texas lawmakers made significant investments in special education services for students who need extra accommodations at school. Students can qualify for extra help if they have intellectual, emotional or physical disabilities.

Lawmakers' changes were part of an an effort to fill a $1.7 billion funding gap between what districts spend and what the state supplies for schools to support students who need special services to learn.

School districts are required by federal law to evaluate students for special education services upon a parent's request or a teacher's recommendation.

Then, students and their families go through an evaluation process to determine if they need extra help. If they do, an evaluation can tell a family what types of services a child may need to address academic, physical or behavior needs.

After a school system evaluates a student, officials draft an individualized education plan, or IEP, with specific therapies or accommodations that the school must provide so the child is best set up to learn.

How much does the state spend to educate special education students?

In the 2024-25 school year, Texas spent almost $8.5 billion on students with disabilities and another $365.1 million on dyslexia services, or about $1,600 per public school student, according to TEA data. The TEA had a $62.2 billion operating budget that year.

However, in many school districts, the funds designated for special education from the state aren’t enough to cover the total cost of providing services.

For instance, in the 2024-25 school year, Austin ISD spent almost $170 million on special education, but the district received only $96.6 million from the state for special education purposes.

How does the state decide how much to give districts?

For years, Texas has allocated special education funds based on the time students spend in a specific classroom or setting. This means two students in a typical classroom who need different accommodations could receive the same amount of state funding to account for their needs -- even if they require a different level of help in that classroom.

That funding system changes this year when portions of a new law comes into effect.

Last year, lawmakers passed an omnibus law, House Bill 2, which invested $8.5 billion in education, including $1.3 billion for special education. . . .

The number of students receiving special education services has increased in recent years.

Since 2014, the number of special education students almost doubled from 442,476 to 846,876 students in 2024, according to TEA data. About 15.3% of Texas students need a special accommodation, up from 8.5% a decade ago.

The increase is due in part to improved reporting.

In 2016, the Houston Chronicle revealed that the TEA had arbitrarily capped special education enrollment at 8.5%. In 2018, the federal government declared the state out of compliance with national standards. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Education declared TEA was back in compliance with special education law.