wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5307 > Original Bill
The legislature recognizes that students receiving special education services are entitled, under both federal and state law, to a free appropriate public education that enables their full participation. Furthermore, special education is fully part of the state's statutory program of basic education that is deemed by the legislature to implement Article IX, section 1 of the state Constitution.
The legislature recognizes that a cap or enrollment limit on the number of students receiving special education services that generate state special education funding is not consistent with the state's duty to provide a free appropriate public education. An enrollment limit that fails to provide equity for all students with disabilities affects all students in public schools.
The legislature recognizes that it has made significant investments in special education funding in recent years, including increasing the special education enrollment cap and increases to the funding multipliers.
The legislature finds that even with the previous investments in special education funding, school districts' expenses to provide services often far exceed state funding, creating an inequitable situation for school districts and students. The legislature supports a system of funding that does not require school districts to generate local funding to meet their obligation to provide special education services.
The legislature further finds that along with reliable and sufficient state funding, receiving special education services in the least restrictive environment possible is crucial to student success. A recent large scale study found that students who spend at least 80 percent of their day in a general education setting improved their reading scores by 24 points and math scores by 18 points compared to peers with similar disabilities in less inclusive settings.
The legislature, therefore, intends to continue making progress towards fully funding special education services by eliminating the cap entirely, lowering the threshold to access special education safety net funds, and increasing the tiered special education multipliers, thereby giving every school district a funding increase.
The legislature further intends to strengthen statewide efforts to support inclusion, monitor and reduce disproportionality, and support school districts in implementing a program of special education that meets the needs of students and families across the state.
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:
b.A district's annual average enrollment of resident 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, multiplied by the district's base allocation per full-time equivalent student, multiplied by the special education cost multiplier rate of either:
i. 1.5289 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
ii. 1.447 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.
The superintendent of public instruction may reserve amounts up to .005 of the funding generated under subsection (2) of this section to use for statewide special education activities outlined in section 3 of this act.
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.
The superintendent of public instruction shall engage in statewide special education activities to support students receiving special education services.
The statewide activities must include:
Annually reviewing data from local education agencies, including the percentage of students receiving special education services, to ensure there is not a disproportionate identification of students, as defined by the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with federal requirements of the individuals with disabilities education act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400; and
Providing technical assistance to school districts with disproportionate data.
The statewide activities may include:
Providing professional development in inclusionary practices to local education agencies, schools, and community partners in promoting inclusionary teaching practices within a multitiered system of supports framework to help safeguard against over-identification and other issues related to disproportionality;
Maintaining common templates and resources including a statewide tool for individualized education programs.
The superintendent of public instruction shall annually report to the education committees of the legislature, in accordance with RCW 43.01.036, by December 1st on the statewide activities funded under RCW 28A.150.390(3). The 2025 and 2026 annual reports must include an update on the impact of removing the cap on the special education enrollment percentage, including the impact on safety net needs.
It is the policy of the state that for purposes of state funding allocations, students eligible for and receiving special education generate the full basic education allocation under RCW 28A.150.260 and, as a class, are to receive the benefits of this allocation for the entire school day, as defined in RCW 28A.150.203, whether the student is placed in the general education setting or another setting.
The superintendent of public instruction shall develop an allocation and cost accounting methodology that ensures state general apportionment funding for students who receive their basic education services primarily in an alternative classroom or setting are prorated and allocated to the special education program and accounted for before calculating special education excess costs. The proration and allocation of general apportionment funding allocated to the special education program may not be based on an individual district's least restrictive environment percentage. A uniform percentage of general apportionment funding for special education students may be adopted by the superintendent of public instruction for proration and allocation.
Nothing in this section requires districts to provide services in a manner inconsistent with the student's individualized education program or other than in the least restrictive environment as determined by the individualized education program team.
The superintendent of public instruction shall provide the legislature with an accounting of prorated general apportionment allocations provided to special education programs broken down by school district by January 1, 2024, and then every January 1st of odd-numbered years thereafter.
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To the extent necessary, funds shall be made available for safety net awards for districts with demonstrated needs for special education funding beyond the amounts provided through the special education funding formula under RCW 28A.150.390.
If the federal safety net awards based on the federal eligibility threshold exceed the federal appropriation in any fiscal year, then the superintendent shall expend all available federal discretionary funds necessary to meet this need.
Safety net funds shall be awarded by the state safety net oversight committee subject to the following conditions and limitations:
The committee shall award additional funds for districts that can convincingly demonstrate that all legitimate expenditures for special education exceed all available revenues from state funding formulas. When determining award eligibility and amounts, the committee shall limit its review to relevant documentation that illustrates adherence to award criteria. The committee shall not make determinations regarding the content of individualized education programs beyond confirming documented and quantified services and evidence of corresponding expenditures for which a school district seeks reimbursement.
In the determination of need, the committee shall consider additional available revenues from federal sources.
Differences in program costs attributable to district philosophy, service delivery choice, or accounting practices are not a legitimate basis for safety net awards.
In the determination of need, the committee shall require that districts demonstrate that they are maximizing their eligibility for all state revenues related to services for students eligible for special education and all federal revenues from federal impact aid, medicaid, and the individuals with disabilities education act-Part B and appropriate special projects. Awards associated with (e) of this subsection shall not exceed the total of a district's specific determination of need.
The committee shall then consider the extraordinary high cost needs of one or more individual students eligible for and receiving special education. Differences in costs attributable to district philosophy, service delivery choice, or accounting practices are not a legitimate basis for safety net awards.
f.
The committee shall then consider the extraordinary high cost needs of one or more individual students eligible for and receiving special education served in residential schools, programs for juveniles under the department of corrections, and programs for juveniles operated by city and county jails to the extent they are providing a secondary program of education.
g. The maximum allowable indirect cost for calculating safety net eligibility may not exceed the federal restricted indirect cost rate for the district plus one percent.
h. Safety net awards shall be adjusted based on the percent of potential medicaid eligible students billed as calculated by the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with chapter 318, Laws of 1999.
i. Safety net awards must be adjusted for any unresolved audit findings or exceptions related to special education funding. Safety net awards may only be adjusted for errors in safety net applications or individualized education programs that materially affect the demonstration of need.
The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt such rules and procedures as are necessary to administer the special education funding and safety net award process. By December 1, 2018, the superintendent shall review and revise the rules to achieve full and complete implementation of the requirements of this subsection and subsection (4) of this section including revisions to rules that provide additional flexibility to access community impact awards. Before revising any standards, procedures, or rules, the superintendent shall consult with the office of financial management and the fiscal committees of the legislature. In adopting and revising the rules, the superintendent shall ensure the application process to access safety net funding is streamlined, timelines for submission are not in conflict, feedback to school districts is timely and provides sufficient information to allow school districts to understand how to correct any deficiencies in a safety net application, and that there is consistency between awards approved by school district and by application period. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall also provide technical assistance to school districts in preparing and submitting special education safety net applications.
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On an annual basis, the superintendent shall survey districts regarding their satisfaction with the safety net process and consider feedback from districts to improve the safety net process. Each year by December 1st, the superintendent shall prepare and submit a report to the office of financial management and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature that summarizes the survey results and those changes made to the safety net process as a result of the school district feedback.
By December 1, 2024, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must develop a survey requesting specific feedback on the safety net application process from school districts with 3,000 or fewer students. The survey must include, at a minimum, questions regarding the average amount of time school district staff spend gathering safety net application data, filling out application forms, and correcting application deficiencies. The survey must also include questions to help identify which application components are the most challenging and time consuming for school districts to complete. By December 1, 2025, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must use this feedback to implement a simplified, standardized safety net application for all school districts that reduces barriers to safety net funding.
The safety net oversight committee appointed by the superintendent of public instruction shall consist of:
One staff member from the office of the superintendent of public instruction;
Staff of the office of the state auditor who shall be nonvoting members of the committee; and
One or more representatives from school districts or educational service districts knowledgeable of special education programs and funding.
6.Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must distribute safety net awards to school districts on a quarterly basis if the following criteria are met:
a. The safety net award is provided for a high-cost student who receives special education services from an approved nonpublic agency located outside of the state of Washington;
b. The school district successfully applied for and received a safety net award for the high-cost student in a prior school year and the student's placement has not changed since that safety net award was granted; and
c. The school district meets all other safety net award eligibility requirements as determined by the safety net oversight committee.
, excluding safety net funding provided in this section.
This act takes effect September 1, 2025.