The House and Senate have passed House Bill 33S unanimously. The bill increases funding for preschool children with disabilities who are not counted in either “intensive” or “complex” special education units by revising the current ratio of 12.8 students per unit to 8.4 students per unit for children 3 years of age and older enrolled in a preschool program.
This is the same ratio in effect as of July 1, 2023, for K-3 basic special education, as a result of a similar bill providing for increased special education funding that passed the General Assembly last session.
The Act also creates a new “preschool 2” unit with a ratio of 7 students per unit. This is to accommodate 2-year-olds with disabilities who are enrolled in school district programs. The Office of Child Care Licensing requires a 1:7 ratio for classrooms that have 2-year-olds in them. The preschool funding change is effective July 1, 2023.
| House Bill 33S – INCREASING FUNDING FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES | Currrent Status – House Passed 40-0-1. Senate Passed 21-0. Sent to the Governor. |
| House Sponsors – Williams, Heffernan, Baumbach, Bush, Griffith, Lynn, Morrison, Osienski / Hensley | Senate Sponsors – Sturgeon, Gay, Hoffner, McBride, Poore, Sokola, Walsh |
| House Yes Votes – Baumbach Bush Carson Chukwuocha Cooke Dorsey-Walker Griffith Harris Heffernan Johnson Lambert Longhurst Lynn Matthews Minor-Brown Moore Morrison Neal Osienski Parker-Selby Phillips Romer Schwartzkopf Williams Wilson-Anton // Briggs King Collins Dukes Gray Hensley Hilovsky Morris Postles Ramone Short Shupe Smith Spiegelman Vanderwende Yearick | Senate Yes Votes – Brown Gay Hansen Hoffner Huxtable Lockman Mantzavinos McBride Paradee Pinkney Poore Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh // Buckson Hocker Lawson Pettyjohn Richardon Wilson |
| House No Votes – None | Senate No Votes – None |
| House Absents or Not Voting – Bolden | Senate Absent or Not Voting – None |
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