Congress moves to triple federal special education funding by 2035

What it does

This bill amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to gradually increase federal funding for special education services from 4.5% of the national average per-pupil expenditure in 2026 to 40% by 2035, with both authorized and appropriated amounts rising each year. The bill directly funds special education services for children aged 3–21 with disabilities, shifting more of the cost burden from states and school districts to the federal government.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is a phased increase in federal appropriations for IDEA Part B special education services, moving toward full federal funding (40% of per-pupil costs) by 2035. This is a straightforward appropriations and authorization amendment.

What the text implies

• The bill includes a 'cut-as-you-go' offset requirement (Section 3), meaning Congress must identify spending cuts or revenue increases elsewhere to pay for the new appropriations—the bill does not specify what those offsets are, leaving the fiscal mechanism incomplete.
• The funding formula ties appropriations to the 'average per-pupil expenditure in public elementary schools and secondary schools in the United States,' which fluctuates annually; this creates year-to-year volatility in the federal commitment unless Congress acts to stabilize it.
• By 2035, the bill reaches 40% federal funding of per-pupil costs, not 100% 'full funding'—the title may overstate the degree of federal assumption; states and districts will still bear 60% of costs.
• The bill does not address how states and districts will transition from current funding levels to the new formula, potentially creating budget planning uncertainty for school systems during the phase-in period.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Families with children with disabilities and school districts serving them gain direct financial relief. The bill increases federal funding for special education services, reducing the burden on state and local budgets that would otherwise be passed to taxpayers or result in service cuts. Children with disabilities receive more stable, better-resourced services.

Who stands to gain

• school districts and public schools (increased federal revenue)
• families with children with disabilities (reduced local tax burden and improved service availability

Named in the bill

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), U.S. Department of Education, state education agencies, local school districts, children with disabilities (ages 3–21)

Where it stands

175 cosponsors: 159 Democrats, 15 Republicans, 1 Independents.

• Apr 2, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 2, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

13 lobbying clients named this bill on 23 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,003,185 in lobbying spend. A filing names 16 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 94% of bills with at least one filing.

Jared Huffman, the sponsor, reported $332,813 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Speech-language-hearing Association — $680,000 on 2 filings
• The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (aota) — $378,000 on 2 filings
• American Academy of Pediatrics — $320,000 on 1 filing
• National Association of Elementary School Principals (naesp) — $190,000 on 2 filings
• Cure Sma — $150,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.