Organizations Demand Halt to Major Special Education Budget Cuts Amid Public Outcry

A planned cut of hundreds of millions of shekels from Israel's special education and at-risk youth budgets has sparked significant public backlash. Twelve organizations supporting children with disabilities, including Ezer Mizion, Ilan, and Akim, have appealed to the Ministry of Education to stop the cuts, warning they will harm tens of thousands of students. They accuse the ministry of pushing the reductions covertly during Operation Breaking Dawn, likening it to "stealing horses during war." The groups highlight that the ministry's new funding formula reduces support for autistic students and those with severe mental disorders by nearly half, from 11-14 hours of staffing per student to 6-8 hours, despite many classes exceeding the official six-student threshold.

The controversy emerged after a report by Calcalist revealed the ministry's extensive budget trimming in special education classes within regular high schools, amounting to hundreds of millions of shekels. The ministry claims the changes correct a long-standing formula error and deny any overall budget cuts, noting that the special education budget actually increased by over 2.5 billion shekels from 2022 to 2023. However, critics argue the adjustments effectively reduce resources and threaten the operation of special education classes.

Knesset Member Adi Mizrahi from Yesh Atid has called for an urgent emergency session of the Knesset Education Committee to address what she terms "mistreatment of special education students." She criticized Education Minister Yoav Kisch for promoting a reckless policy that could lead to class closures and harm vulnerable students. Meanwhile, the special education budget has nearly doubled in five years, from 15 billion shekels in 2021 to an expected 28 billion in 2026, representing over a quarter of the total education budget. Projections suggest it could reach 30% by 2030 if current trends continue.

The ministry maintains that the funding model update aims to allocate resources more accurately according to actual needs and prevent misallocations. Yet, with the minister avoiding direct engagement on the issue, tensions continue to rise among educators, advocacy groups, and lawmakers concerned about the future of special education in Israel.