Five disability advocacy groups got together June 25 for a webinar hosted by the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities to discuss the good, bad, and ugly from the last legislative session.
A highlight: House Bill 2081 established a grant program that expands inclusive postsecondary education programs for students with an intellectual and/or developmental disability.
Brooke Hohfeld, co-executive director of Texas Advocates, said in the webinar that she had to go to college in New Mexico as Texas did not have enough comprehensive transition programs, like the new Building Better Futures Program created by the bill.
“This program will have a huge return on investment because instead of going away to school and maybe getting a job in another state and then paying taxes to that state, Texas will get that investment,” Hohfeld said in the webinar.
Four bills passed targeted early voting accessibility. Senate Bill 2964 made it easier for voters to fix errors made on returned mail-in ballots. HB 2259 requires all early ballot applications be provided with instructions in multiple languages. HB 3697 increases font size on mail ballot applications.
Cole Glosser, peer policy fellow for the Coalition of Texans With Disabilities, highlighted Senate Bill 1, which raised the wage of personal care attendants from $10.60 to $13. Personal care attendants help disabled people remain independent in their homes.
“This program will have a huge return on investment.” – Brooke Hohfeld, co-executive director of Texas Advocates
While HB 2 adds $8.5 billion in new public school funding generally, that includes $1.3 billion of dedicated funding to special education programs, as Marisa Iannaccone, a policy analyst at the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, pointed out.
One piece of legislation that failed in the 89th Legislature was HB 645 and its Senate counterpart, SB 1653. These bills would have provisioned co-navigation services to individuals who are both deaf and blind. According to the bill, these services help Texans who are deaf-blind move around, with visual and environmental information or sighted guide services.
This marks the fourth time a bill related to co-navigation has failed in Texas, said Linda Litzinger, advocacy director for Texas Parent to Parent.
Meanwhile, a multitude of bills surrounding health benefit plan coverage for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders failed. These include HB 564 and 813, and SB 563 and 1678. Jacquie Benestante, executive director for the Autism Society of Texas, said in the webinar that these bills would have updated outdated language and expanded recognized autism services.
This article appears in July 4 • 2025.