School Districts Alert
April 2007
Authors:
Grace T. Yuan
+1.206.370.7814
grace.yuan@klgates.com
Christopher L. Hirst
+1.206.370.8336
christopher.hirst@klgates.com
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Special Education Funding Increased in
2007-09 State Budget
Elected Officials Respond to Alliance’s Efforts:
School Districts Benefit Statewide
Elected officials have authorized an additional $75 million for improved funding of special
education programs in the 2007-09 State Budget. School districts statewide will benefit
from the increase.
As you may recall, Bellingham, Bethel, Burlington-Edison, Everett, Federal Way, Issaquah,
Lake Washington, Mercer Island, Northshore, Puyallup, Riverside, and Spokane School
Districts joined together to form the School Districts’ Alliance for Adequate Funding of
Special Education. In September 2004, the Alliance filed a lawsuit against the State of
Washington for its consistent failure to fully fund special education programs. Currently,
districts statewide spend more than $130 million a year in local funding to cover what the
State fails to provide.
In March 2007, Judge McPhee of the Thurston County Superior Court ruled that the Alliance
had failed to establish that the State so inadequately funded special education that it violated
the Constitution. However, the Judge found that the State’s cap on the number of funded
special education students is unconstitutional. Currently, over fifty percent of the districts
statewide are over the cap because districts have more than 12.7 percent special education
students in their overall student population.
In addition to pursuing the lawsuit, the Alliance has worked hard with elected officials
in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 legislative sessions to advise them regarding the severity of
the funding gap in special education. We are pleased to report that the legislators and the
Governor responded with a 2007-09 Budget that takes an important step toward addressing
this funding shortfall. The additional $75 million is allocated through a number of different
provisions. They include increasing funding by an average of an additional $73 per special
education student per year, funding three-to-four year olds at a higher level, and removing
three-to-four year olds from the calculation of the 12.7 percent cap. Furthermore, a new
category and more dollars have been added to the Safety Net program that allows districts
to apply for State funding if, despite removal of three-to-four year olds from the calculation,
districts continue to exceed the cap. Finally, legislators directed the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to streamline the Safety Net application process, to provide technical assistance
to school districts, and to survey school districts regarding improvements to the process.
The $75 million more in funding statewide is on top of the $29 million provided in the last
biennium, for a total of a $104 million increase since the time that the Alliance filed the
lawsuit.
We are pleased that the Governor and the legislators have provided additional funding for
special education, most of which will flow directly to school districts. Many elected officials
have acknowledged the districts’ growing concerns about special education finance and
are taking steps to help us address the funding gap. Because special education remains
underfunded, the Alliance continues to work with elected officials on these issues on behalf
of districts across the State.
School Districts Alert
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April 2007 |