Israel's Special Education Budget Soars Amidst Growing Student Numbers
Israel's special education budget is projected to increase by 2.5 billion shekels, rising from 24 billion shekels in 2025 to 26.5 billion shekels in 2026. This surge is driven by an 8.8% increase in special education students, from 384,500 in the 2025/26 school year to 418,400 in the 2026/27 school year. This growth rate far outpaces the 1.5% to 2% annual increase seen in the general education system.
Despite these alarming figures, no reform has been implemented this year to curb the growth or optimize the special education budget. While Education Minister Yoav Kisch adopted recommendations from the Shapira Committee in mid-2025 to address the issue, their implementation has been postponed to 2027, effectively passing the responsibility to his successor. The article highlights the need for a strategic plan to manage the escalating costs, questioning whether eligibility and solutions for special education students should be tiered and if the authority to determine eligibility should revert from parents to the state.
Since 2021, the special education budget has grown by 77%, nearly double the 41% increase in the Ministry of Education's overall budget. Special education now constitutes 26.2% of the ministry's budget, up from 20.9% in 2021, and is expected to reach 30.6% by 2030. The average annual cost per student in special education is significantly higher than in regular education, ranging from 74,100 shekels for learning or emotional difficulties to 129,000 shekels for autistic students, compared to 27,300 shekels for regular students.
The number of autistic students has more than doubled in four years, and students with severe mental health issues have also seen a similar dramatic increase. Factors contributing to this rise include broader autism definitions, increased parental awareness, reduced stigma, and overcrowded regular classrooms. Former Education Minister Shai Piron suggests that the definition of special education is too broad, with only 30-40% of students being "clear" special education cases, while the rest have behavioral or attention issues.
The Shapira Committee's recommendations, which included reducing class sizes in regular schools to an average of 19 students and increasing kindergarten teachers, were estimated to cost 14 billion shekels upfront and 1.5 billion shekels annually. However, the Ministry of Finance opposed these measures, deeming them impractical and lacking proof of effectiveness. Minister Kisch stated that the 15 billion shekels required for the plan could not be allocated during wartime and is currently negotiating a multi-year plan with the Treasury to implement the recommendations and reach new agreements with teachers, suggesting a "new deal" will be necessary for future ministers as well.
