Do you advocate for students with disabilities?

You might want to pick up the phone

Legislative Hotline: 1.800.562.6000

• Find your district and legislators here 
• Roster of legislators

There is an extra $2.5 billion or so in federal funding available to Washington students, but there is not a clear picture of how the state and local schools will use those funds to support students furthest from justice. As for state funds, there are some smart, targeted investments that both House and Senate need to agree on.

Your insight is needed.

Here is a side by side of House and Senate funding proposals to support students with disabilities.

Please contact your legislators – they need to hear from families about what support students with disabilities need. You can email them, but given the short turnaround, calling might be most effective.

Budget writers are meeting this week to start reconciling the House and Senate proposals.

Some quick talking points

(See further down for background and context)

• Equity is essential. Continue funding OSPI's Inclusionary Practices Program and increasing access to general education. Support the modest Senate allocation of $12 million.
  
  
• Put money – millions more – into social emotional, trauma-informed, and counseling support for students. It is critical for recovery, resilience, and academic progress. Consider tapping federal recovery funds.
  
  
• Do not lock up American Rescue Plan funds for special education into the Safety Net. Please use the House approach and ensure all eligible IDEA students have ready access to recovery services.
  
  
• Streamline! Thank you for extending transition services for eligible students. This process, though, should be automatic for participating students. The issue is service interruption, not validation. In this situation, requiring IEP team review and approval adds unnecessary expense and delay.
  
  
• Be proactive about access. The House steers millions in federal funds to non-school providers for after-school and wrap-around support. These programs MUST be able and willing to support students with disabilities. Any grant process must spell out how students with disabilities will be accommodated. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 requires equal access to people with disabilities when federal funding is in play.
  
  
• Fund for whole child success. The House allocation of $760,000 for multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) implementation is a smart, targeted investment to get students what they need, when they need it – whether it be academic, behavior, or social emotional support.
  
  
• Provide a basic education, regardless of setting. Please support the House level of funding to ensure students in institutions have access basic education, including access to special education supports as required. Fund $4.5 million for institutional education, and $1.5 million for justice-involved youth.

Background and context

Social and emotional/trauma/mental health support

All students have had a rough year and schools need to be prepared to support them socially and emotionally.

• The House funds a small pot of money for social and emotional learning grants; the Senate does not.
• The House funds also funds a small pot of money for technical assistance for trauma-informed learning; again, the Senate does not.

Good news is there is funding for counselors at high poverty schools in both budgets, though the House allocation is much higher.

TALKING POINT: Relationship, belonging, and membership are essential to brain development and building resiliency. For kids to thrive, they need access to core social and emotional learning. This next year, especially, they need access to counselors and trauma-informed practices. Please direct substantially more funding into social emotional learning, trauma-informed instruction, and access to counselors so our youth can move through and process the stress of the pandemic.

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Access to recovery services, specific to special education

For a year now, many students with individualized education programs (IEPs) have not had access to the individualized instruction and related supports they require to meet learning standards, or more specific IEP goals. Most will need recovery services, and some will need compensatory education.

It is critical that schools have ready access to the American Rescue Plan Act funds designated to support these students.

The Senate’s plan puts these funds into the state’s Safety Net – an extremely problematic approach. The Safety Net program provides additional funding to address extraordinary costs associated with students with exceptional needs. Those are big barriers and access to Safety Net funds only comes AFTER schools have spent the money. The Safety Net is a way to partially recover costs for exceptional support needs. It will not provide ready access to the majority who will who need recovery support over the next year.

TALKING POINT: Do not lock up American Rescue Plan funds for special education into the Safety Net. Please use the House approach and ensure students have ready access to support. The need for post-pandemic recovery learning is not limited to a small number of high impact students, and schools do not have the cash to pay first and ask for partial reimbursement later.

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Extending eligibility for transition services

All students using special education services in high school should have a transition plan that states what conditions will be met for them to exit school; this includes the opportunity to complete graduation requirements and, for some, attend a transition program after grade 12. The pandemic interrupted transition programs. Both House and Senate set aside $24 million to extend eligibility for students turning 21 during the last 2 years who did not graduate with a regular diploma.

Advocates’ only ask is that this extension be automatic for those eligible and not subject to IEP team negotiation. If their program was interrupted, students should be able to complete it. Requiring IEP team approval creates inequitable barriers and delays. The IEP already states the program is required.

TALKING POINT: Extending transition services for eligible students is great. Thank you! But this should be automatic for students already participating. The issue is service interruption, not validation. In this situation, pulling in the IEP team for review and approval adds unnecessary expense and delay. Please streamline!
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Equal access to non-school support

Here is the reality: Too many after-school programs and community-led wrap-around supports are not available to students with disabilities. The organizations don’t design their programs for this demographic. The House wants to send millions in federal recovery funds to non-school entities. This public money is intended to support all students, and students with disabilities must have equal access.

If the House proceeds with this plan, then measures must be put in place to the grant-making process to ensure programs will accommodate students with disabilities. This includes toileting accommodations.

TALKING POINT: Be proactive about access. The House steers millions in federal funds to non-school providers for after-school and wrap-around support. That is fine … but these providers MUST be able and willing to support students with disabilities. Any grant process to private entities must spell out how students with disabilities will be accommodated.

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 requires equal access to people with disabilities when federal funding is in play.

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MTSS: What students need, when they need it

A multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) is an essential component of universal design. It helps schools respond to and support students, focusing on the whole child. It uses prevention and interventions that increase with intensity based on student need. MTSS is an integrated approach that addresses academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs.

Wellness, mental health, and social services – as well as academics - are part of an MTSS approach.

The House budget includes $760,000 to support districts in implementing MTSS. The Senate budget does not.

TALKING POINT: Please fund support for district implementation of MTSS. The House allocation of $760,000 is a smart, targeted investment to get students what they need, when they need it – whether it be academic, behavior, or social emotional support.

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Inclusion: At the heart of it all

Membership, belonging, and participation are fundamental to healthy development, learning, and lifelong well-being. Another word for all this is inclusion. In the educational realm, inclusion is intentional, with policies and practices designed to ensure access and promote belonging.

But for many students with disabilities in Washington, segregation is the norm. Washington – more so than most states – segregates out students with disabilities from their non-disabled peers. Even when students with disabilities are not segregated, they may be integrated without support, a practice that pushes youth to the margins.

Two years ago, the legislature and the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction took steps to build inclusionary practices. The Senate invests a modest $12 million to continue OSPI’s Inclusionary Practices Program. The House does not.

TALKING POINT: Membership, belonging, and participation are fundamental to healthy development, learning, and lifelong well-being. Please invest a modest $12 million and continue the Inclusionary Practices Program at OSPI. Washington should not be a leader in disability segregation.

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Institutional education

Youth and young adults with disabilities – and especially Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) – are disproportionately removed to institutions or incarcerated, where their access to education can be limited. This can include group homes for youth, stays in intermediate care facilities for people with developmental disabilities, and juvenile rehabilitation centers.

Institutional education is not funded in the same way public schools are. The House budget invests in supports and strategies to ensure youth living in institutions have access to the state’s program of basic education. These include differentiated instruction, education advocates, IEP reviews, data collection, and more.

TALKING POINT: Please support the House level of funding for institutional education to ensure students in institutions have access basic education, including access to special education supports as required.

Improving transition services for students

• Transition survey

The state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is partnering with the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to improve transition services for students and young adults.

“Transition” is the phase when students move from high school to job or college. All students with IEPs should have a transition plan. Some students will continue past traditional 12th grade in a transition program, up to age 21. When they leave high school or their transition program, students with disabilities may qualify for different DSHS services – for instance help finding a job through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR)  or supported employment through the Developmental Disability Administration (DDA). King County contracts with the state to offer supported employment services locally and administers them through its Developmental Disabilities Division.

DSHS and OSPI have a survey out on ways to support students who are potentially eligible for services through the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA). These services are the Medicaid long-term services and supports offered through the state’s “waivers” – Basic Plus, Core, Individual and  and others. A popular service is supported employment, which is offered through the Basic Plus and Core waivers, and administered locally by King County.

• You can access the survey here.

If you want more information about transition, DVR and DDA, Informing Families has a family-friendly explanation.

The survey states that participants will:

• Learn more about the secondary transition proviso in the 2017-18 supplemental education budget and the proviso work group;
• Identify current supports and barriers affecting post-school outcomes for students with disabilities;
• Provide feedback and additional input on proposed activities and resources related to the proviso work group; and
• Share additional comments, questions, and input

Special education gets small bump in 2017-19 budget

The K-12 education part of the 2017-19 budget deal was released. In a surprise move, they bumped up the cap on special education funding from 12.7 percent of full-time enrollment (FTE) to 13.5 percent FTE.

Considering years of resistance to even looking at the cap, this is a significant shift and will increase funding for hundreds of students with disabilities.

However ... going off last year's list of districts over the cap, the change means just 30 additional districts will now have all of their students requiring special education covered; the remaining 90 districts -- including one of the state's largest, Spokane -- still fall short.

• Summary chart of new K-12 basic education investments

• Covered or not - a list of districts affected in 2015
• Budget agreement looks at mix of resources

$300 million short ... additional $9.4 million in relief

For some context, in a 2015 amicus brief in the McCleary school funding lawsuit, the state superintendent's office reported school districts paid an additional $266 million in local funds to cover the full cost of special education that year. Another $40 million in relief came from the state's special education safety net, putting the state's basic education allocation for special education about $300 million short.

This proposed change in the cap funds an additional $9.4 million for special education next year. 

So ... a significant shift from refusing to consider or even discuss special education funding. But not a solution.

- Ramona Hattendorf, Director of Advocacy, The Arc of  King County

Why we worry about the special education cap

• Ready to speak up? Talking points and more detail

Funding for special education is not equitable in Washington.

The state wants to control costs, so it cuts off funding to school districts once their special education caseload hits 12.7 percent of full-time student enrollment.

Nevermind the state's McCleary mandate to cover actual costs of basic education, or the federal civil rights mandate to cover all who qualify. In Washington, we have caps.

If districts happen to have 12.7 percent or less of their student body qualifying, then they get a set amount for each student. This makes up their pool to cover all their special education services.

If districts happen to have more students qualifying, then they are still funded as if they have 12.7 percent. They just have to spread that pool to cover more students.

This worries us.

Legally (and morally) schools need to be in the business of finding children with disabilities or developmental delay and getting them services as soon as possible. Their healthy development depends on it, and the sooner services can be provided, the better the outcome.

When funding is cut off based on enrollment numbers, services can get delayed, or even denied.

K-12 at the mid-point - A legislative update

Some overarching concerns with K-12 education:

• Are expectations high enough? A lot of students with developmental disabilities aren’t graduating with a regular diploma.

• Lost learning time - this includes disproportionate suspension and expulsion, as well as time spent pulled out of class, but kept in school.

• Time with paraeducators. On one hand, they are essential to making general education accessible to students with disabilities. One the other, they are not certified, generally don't have access to training, and there are no shared professional standards for the field. Paraeducators need recognition and support, and schools need funding to cover necessary staffing levels. Students in special education spend about 60 percent of their learning time with paraeducators.

• Whole child support: That is, the social, emotional and behavior support and skill building needed - along with the standards and core staffing.

The bills:

Weighing in is easy: To comment on any bill, click on the number. That will take you to the bill page. Once there, click on “Comment on this bill” button. (Hint: Legislative staff said some users have reported problems with the “verify district” step when using phones or handheld devices. You need to double click that button. Also, be sure the state is “WA” and not “Washington.”)

Education funding: What is the plan and will it cover students with disabilities?

At The Arc of King County, we are concerned that state efforts to fill funding gaps for K-12 schools will leave special education behind. This is based on current levels of local funding going into special education, as well as the state’s intention to continue capping special education funding at 12.7 percent of full-time enrolled students. This cap is applied at the local level, without regard to demographics. Last year, 120 districts and a charter school exceeded the cap.

• CURIOUS? You can look up your district (or any other one) here to check special education funding and enrollment, and other data.

SOME CONTEXT:

• Citizen’s Guide to Washington’s Budget 
• Guide to K-12 Funding 

Public schools are always a big part of the state’s operating budget, but this year advocates for various causes are closely monitoring what happens with K-12 funding.

The state is in the final year of phasing in additional funding to pay for an expanded program of basic education, first proposed and passed in 2009. The state is also under court watch to amply fund education. In its January 2012 McCleary v State ruling, the state supreme court said if the expanded basic education program was implemented and funded, then the court would be satisfied. The state lost the McCleary suit, which asserted that Washington was not meeting its paramount duty to amply fund education for all children in the state.

People watching K-12 education want to make sure the program is adequately funded; and people from other advocacy areas are wondering what increased funding for K-12 will mean for other budget areas.

SPECIAL EDUCATION - Districts are supplementing and stretching funding

In Washington, special education services are part of the program of basic education, and as such are the responsibility of the state to fund. To qualify for services, students must pass three criteria:

• First, be diagnosed by a doctor or team of professionals as having a qualifying disability (these are listed in federal law).
• Second, demonstrate that the disability adversely affects their ability to learn.
• Third, demonstrate that their unique needs cannot be addressed through general education classes alone, with or without accommodations.

Under the federal mandate of child find, school districts must identify, find and evaluate all children with disabilities. Not all children with disabilities will qualify for special education, but if they do, then the districts must serve them.

Funding: Currently, special education is considered part the state’s program of basic education and is funded by allocating additional money to school districts using a multiplier. Each school district gets a base per pupil allocation. For special education, the state multiplies that base by .93, and allocates that extra amount for up to 12.7 percent of full-time student enrollment (FTE). 

The catch: Districts only receive special education funding for up to 12.7 percent FTE, even if they have more students who qualify. This system is in place despite variances in district demographics, despite districts sizes, and even despite ages served. (Special education rates tend to be higher for younger children.) 

It is also in place even though there is no nationally accepted incidence rate. The best approximation for younger children (ages 2 to 8) is 15.4 percent, according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control last year that reviewed data on mental, behavioral and developmental disability rates. 

• What Texas did to its special education students

House and Senate Bills Continue Special Education Inequities

The state legislature would continue to cut off funding at 12.7 percent of students, even though the state has 13.5 percent of students qualifying for services

To engage on these bills:

• SSB 5607 - Concerning education 
• HB 1843 - Fulfilling the state's paramount duty for all children
• Send a note to lead sponsors: Email Senator John Braun, SSB 5607; Email Rep. Pat Sullivan, HB1843  

Click on bill number/link above, then click on "Comment on this bill." (It will be on the right.) Share your story. 

February 3, 2017

SEATTLE, WA – As the state House considers competing proposals to fix constitutional problems with school funding, an analysis by The Arc of King County found that both proposals would leave 8,688 students without any state funding to meet their special needs.  Both proposals would exclude nearly 147,000 children with disabilities from funding reforms.

The House Appropriations Committee has scheduled public hearings on Monday on two proposals to address McCleary v. State, the lawsuit forcing the state to fully fund basic education.   Those proposals – the House Democrats’ bill, HB 1843, and the Senate Republicans’ bill, SSB 5607 - would use different funding models to increase teacher salaries and boost various programs. 

Special education, required by federal law to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities, is invisible in the reform discussions.  Both bills would increase funding for nearly every program except special education.   Both bills would retain an arbitrary cap on special education funding.