Hilliard City Schools budgeted nearly $31.8 million for special education in 2025-26. A new bill at the Statehouse could change how much the state pays back.

State Reps. Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison) introduced House Bill 1012 on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The legislation would create a $360 million fund in the General Revenue Fund to reimburse school districts for special education costs that exceed state-set thresholds, according to the Ohio Capital Journal, which reported on the bill Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Under current law, districts can seek reimbursement when a student's services cost more than a threshold ranging from $27,375 to $32,850, depending on the disability category. But the money has not kept pace with demand. For fiscal year 2026, Ohio approved 22,158 student applications across 535 districts and paid out $90.9 million, a statewide reimbursement rate of 25.57%, according to ODEW spokesperson Lacey Snoke.

That means for every dollar a district spends above the threshold statewide, it gets back roughly a quarter.

HB 1012 would require the state to cover the full additional cost above that threshold, according to the Ohio House Republican press release announcing the bill. Whether the $360 million fund would fully cover all district claims statewide or function as a cap is not specified in available bill language.

The pressure is visible in Hilliard's own numbers. The district's FY2026 budget document shows special instruction spending at $31,846,543, up 9.8% from the prior year. That figure represents 12.3% of the district's $259.2 million general fund. The district added three intervention specialist teachers and five intervention assistant positions for the 2025-26 school year to handle growing caseloads.

Statewide, the share of Ohio students with disabilities rose from 16.2% in the 2021-22 school year to 17.7% in 2025-26, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW). Applications for above-threshold reimbursement jumped 26% in a single year, the Ohio House press release said.

"What happens is when you get a student who needs significantly more support or services, that money ends up having to come out of the general fund for that school district because it's not available anywhere else, which impacts everybody," Dee Marks, who sits on the governing board's Member Organization Council at the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities, told the Ohio Capital Journal.

White said in the press release that districts need more state support so students can access meaningful learning regardless of where they live.

The bill awaited a House committee assignment as of its introduction Sept. 16. It must pass before the 136th General Assembly's session ends in December or it will have to be reintroduced.

Hilliard's Director of Special Education is Jamie Lennox. No public statement from Lennox, Superintendent David Stewart, or Treasurer Melissa Swearingen on HB 1012 appeared in district records as of Tuesday, Sept. 29.

The Hilliard Board of Education meets Monday, Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at Tharp Sixth Grade School.