On June 22, 2026, House Bill 2307 was referred to the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee for consideration after passing the House. Its passage would provide additional fiscal support to schools for special education-related costs via the Special Education Contingency Fund.
The Special Education Contingency Fund (the “Fund”) was established under 24 P.S. § 25-2509.8 for the distribution and expenditure of funds for extraordinary special education program expenses. The Department of Education considers extraordinary expenses as those that result from needs and circumstances of a student with significant disabilities, which are not ordinarily provided in a typical special education service or program, and which expenses exceed the school funding.
The overall purpose of the Fund is to provide additional state financial assistance for special education costs that are not anticipated as part of a school’s regular operating budget.
House Bill 2307 is specifically aimed at implementing several reforms to the Fund:
- Increase the portion of the state’s annual Special Education Fund appropriation that is dedicated to the Special Education Contingency Fund from 1% to 2%;
- Distribute funds from the percentage increase based on the cost of the student relative to a school district’s total special education instructional costs;
- Limit the application to the Contingency Fund for a student enrolled from no more than two (2) school years.
The consistent trend in recent years shows that annual applications for funding far exceed available resources. Simply put, House Bill 2307 would increase the amount of funds appropriated for use by schools and thereby allow greater access to resources. Additionally, by distributing the funds based upon relative cost, smaller districts are not overshadowed by larger districts with larger budgets.
Lastly, the Fund is intended to cover emergent extraordinary special education costs of individual students that are not part of the existing budget. However, schools often submit applications and receive funding for the same student across many years.
By limiting applications to students enrolled for two years or less, House Bill 2307 intends to combat the use of funds by schools to augment their typical special education services or presuppose the availability of funds in their special education operating budget.
The goal is to make the Fund diversely accessible to more schools and students for the support and resources needed. The Bill’s sponsor, Rep. Emily Kinkead, states that “[t]hese reforms would help make sure contingency funding reaches the schools and students who need it most, especially for smaller school districts with smaller special education budgets.”
Bottom Line for Schools
House Bill 2307 stands to provide greater financial assistance across the board to schools for emergent special education expenses. The bottom line is that, if passed, House Bill 2307 will change how schools currently use the Contingency Fund. When applying for funding assistance, schools must ensure that the student is qualified to receive the same by being enrolled for no more than two (2) consecutive school years.
We will continue to monitor the bill’s progression through the House and provide updates as available.
