wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1357 > Original Bill
The superintendent of public instruction shall submit to each regular session of the legislature during an odd-numbered year a programmed budget request for special education programs for students with disabilities. Funding for programs operated by local school districts shall be on an excess cost basis from appropriations provided by the legislature for special education programs for students with disabilities and shall take account of state funds accruing through RCW 28A.150.260 (4)(a), (5), (6), and (8) and 28A.150.415.
The excess cost allocation to school districts shall be based on the following:
A district's annual average head count enrollment of students ages three and four and those five year olds not yet enrolled in kindergarten who are eligible for and receiving special education, multiplied by the district's base allocation per full-time equivalent student, multiplied by 1.2;
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(A)
1.18 for students eligible for and receiving special education and reported to be in the general education setting for 80 percent or more of the school day; or
(B) 1.09 for students eligible for and receiving special education and reported to be in the general education setting for less than 80 percent of the school day.
ii. If the enrollment percent exceeds 16 percent, the excess cost allocation calculated under (b)(i) of this subsection must be adjusted by multiplying the allocation by 16 percent divided by the enrollment percent.
As used in this section:
"Base allocation" means the total state allocation to all schools in the district generated by the distribution formula under RCW 28A.150.260 (4)(a), (5), (6), and (8) and the allocation under RCW 28A.150.415, to be divided by the district's full-time equivalent enrollment.
"Basic education enrollment" means enrollment of resident students including nonresident students enrolled under RCW 28A.225.225 and students from nonhigh districts enrolled under RCW 28A.225.210 and excluding students residing in another district enrolled as part of an interdistrict cooperative program under RCW 28A.225.250.
"Enrollment percent" means the district's resident annual average enrollment of students who are eligible for and receiving special education, excluding students ages three and four and those five year olds not yet enrolled in kindergarten and students enrolled in institutional education programs, as a percent of the district's annual average full-time equivalent basic education enrollment.
Subject to availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must award grants to up to 25 pilot schools to support school-wide centers of excellence for inclusionary practices. School districts may apply for grant funding on behalf of a school within their district. The selected schools will generate a grant equivalent to the amount needed to bring the school to a multiplier of 1.5 for all students eligible for, and receiving special education in, the school in each school year over a four-year period. Grant amounts provided in this section must be spent on qualifying expenses for special education programs for students with disabilities.
The superintendent of public instruction must select grant recipients based on the criteria in this subsection (2). Selected pilot schools must be diverse geographically and in size of enrollment. Successful school applicants must:
Demonstrate engaged and committed school leadership and faculty in support of inclusionary practices, which may include, but are not limited to, the following practices:
A willingness to make master schedule changes to allow for common collaboration time;
A plan for transformational change in building practices in support of inclusion;
Broadly communicating a commitment to the shift in practices; and
A commitment to, and understanding of, universal design for learning;
Demonstrate that all school staff, including classified staff, are appropriately trained in inclusionary practices or submit a plan for all staff to obtain the appropriate training by the end of the following school year;
Provide data demonstrating the school's existing success in inclusionary practices or recent improvements in inclusionary practices; and
Describe how staff training and support in inclusionary practices will be sustained after initial training is provided.
Beginning December 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature on the grant program. The report must include, at a minimum:
A list of the grant recipients from the previous school year;
The additional funding provided to each grant recipient as required in subsection (1) of this section; and
The effectiveness of the grant funds in increasing staff training in inclusionary practices and improving student outcomes.
The funding provided under this section is not part of the state's statutory program of basic education.
The department is the state lead agency for Part C of the federal individuals with disabilities education act. The department shall administer the early support for infants and toddlers program, to provide early intervention services to all eligible children with disabilities from birth to three years of age. Eligibility shall be determined according to Part C of the federal individuals with disabilities education act or other applicable federal and state laws, and as specified in the Washington Administrative Code adopted by the department. Services provided under this section shall not supplant services or funding currently provided in the state for early intervention services to eligible children with disabilities from birth to three years of age.
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Funding for the early support for infants and toddlers program shall be appropriated to the department based on the annual average head count of children ages birth to three who are eligible for and receiving early intervention services, multiplied by the total statewide allocation generated by the distribution formula under RCW 28A.150.260 (4)(a), (5), (6), and (8) and the allocation under RCW 28A.150.415, per the statewide full-time equivalent enrollment in common schools, multiplied by the multiplier used in RCW 28A.150.390(2)(a).
The department shall distribute funds to early intervention services providers, and, when appropriate, to county lead agencies.
For the purposes of this subsection (2), a child is receiving early intervention services if the child has received services within the same month as the monthly count day, which is the last business day of the month.
Federal funds associated with Part C of the federal individuals with disabilities education act shall be subject to payor of last resort requirements pursuant to 34 C.F.R. Sec. 303.510 (2020) for birth-to-three early intervention services provided under this section.
The services in this section are not part of the state's program of basic education pursuant to Article IX of the state Constitution.