Attention education advocates!
2 bills propose big increases for special education services
- Sign in on these bills here: https://bit.ly/SpecEdFundingBills.
- Must sign in by 12:30 pm, 1/22/2025 (hearing is at 1:30 pm)
You can also send your state legislators a comment (no deadline):
- SB 5307: https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5307
- HB 1310 (House version of 5307): https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/1310
- SB 5263: https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5263
The Washington state Senate will hold public hearings Wednesday, January 22, on 2 bills that make BIG investments in special education services for students with disabilities.
At The Arc of King County, we prefer SB 5307 / HB 1310 but would like to see a bill advance that includes elements of SB 5263.
Both SB 5307 and SB 5263 end the cap on funded enrollment, increase the multipliers for preschool and K-12 special education services, and work to make the safety net more accessible. The safety net is available to cover IEPs that are exceptionally expensive.
(IEP = Individualized Education Program)
SB 5263 does more to make the safety net accessible to smaller and less wealthy school districts. We like that.
SB 5307 (which has a companion in the House, HB
1310) also includes a funding mechanism to support inclusive practices,
address disproportionality/over-identification, and work on a statewide tool for
IEPs, something that if done right with plain language and translations could
be a HUGE help for families trying to understand what their child's rights are
and how these services are supposed to work.
INCLUSION MATTERS - HOW DOES FUNDING SUPPORT IT?
In our experience, adequate funding, while critical, is not the only issue undermining quality, inclusive, and accessible education for students with disabilities. How members of IEP teams (including parents) are supported is a BIG part of it, as are biases and assumptions about what kids with cognitive disabilities or extensive support needs can do, or where they should learn. We could use a good tool and state technical support to do right by our youth.
SB 5307 / HB 1310 affirms through state policy what federal
law requires and science supports: Students with disabilities have the right to
equal access in integrated settings, and an equal opportunity to benefit. Special education is a service, and not a place. Special education services are designed to be mobile, flexible, and not linked to a specific location, classroom, or building schedule.
(Source: Americans with Disabilities Act, Title II; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. There are also US Supreme Court cases that come into play, namely Olmstead v LC for the ADA, and Endrew F. v. Douglas for the IDEA.)
The state Senate is holding hearings at 1:30 pm Wednesday in
the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.
LEARN MORE ABOUT INCLUSIVE PRACTICES & FUNDING:
The state’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) recently finished a performance audit of special education service delivery and access and special education funding formulas and spending.
Our takeaways from JLARC reports:
- ACCESS & OPPORTUNITY: Experts identify 6 strategies to support inclusive and accessible learning. While some of the strategies are used in some Washington schools, there is no statewide coordination, and there is no statewide policy prioritizing inclusive practices.
- THE BIG CAP LIE: The enrollment cap on funded special
education services disproportionately affects small, rural, and less wealthy
districts. There is no research or evidence that enrollment caps improve
appropriate identification of students to receive special education as
intended. Instead, research suggests enrollment caps penalize districts with
more students in need of services.
Inclusion is about practice
The state’s Inclusive Practices Technical Network (IPTN), a project of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), continues to do great work creating and distributing resources to support best practices. But most students are not yet benefiting, especially Black/African American students and students with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
We aren’t suggesting funding is not important. But funding WITHOUT inclusionary practices could perpetuate harm, like placing more Black/African American youth in segregated settings and not giving kids with cognitive disabilities or more extensive support needs access to the general education curriculum and school community.
Research does not support segregation.
Research supports changing the school environment (for everyone) to be more flexible and responsive, and implementing practices to better support diverse children, with and without disabilities.
Two resources we recommend (Share with your IEP team!)
- Comprehensive Inclusive Education in Washington, created by OSPIs’ special education team and the TIES Center.
This is a great tool for ALL families and IEP teams, but especially if your school is talking about inclusion and you aren’t sure what that means for you child, or if you are trying to secure an inclusive placement and the rest of the IEP team is resistant.
OSPI's special education team says this is their most downloaded resource.
It is exciting to see resources that support inclusive learning for ALL of our students, and it is a relief to see funding proposals to address inadequate funding for services. In the end, we hope whatever passes the state legislature elevates and centers on inclusive practices.
- Ramona Hattendorf, Director of Public Policy & Civic Engagement, The Arc of King County
