Basic Education.
The state's statutory program of basic education is available to students who are at least 5 years of age and less than 21 years of age at the beginning of the school year.
Special Education.
Special education is a component of basic education. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) governs how states and public elementary and secondary schools (public schools) provide special education and related services to children and youth with disabilities.
In Washington, the Superintendent of Public Instruction is responsible for ensuring that the state and its public schools comply with requirements of the IDEA, and other federal and state special education laws.
With some exceptions, a state receiving federal funding under the IDEA must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to children and youth with disabilities between their third and twenty-second birthdays. Under the IDEA, a state is not required to provide a FAPE to youth with disabilities ages 18 through 21 if doing so would be inconsistent with state law or practice for the provision of public education to youth in that age range.
Under Washington law, students with disabilities must be provided a FAPE between the ages of 3 and 21, or high school graduation, whichever occurs first. When a student's twenty-first birthday occurs during the school year, state statute allows continued provision of FAPE until the end of the school year; while a rule of the Superintendent of Public Instruction requires the provision of FAPE until the end of the school year in which the student turns age 21.
N.D. v. Reykdal.
In November 2024 the US District Court for the Western District of Washington issued an order in the case of N.D. v. Reykdal, a class action lawsuit alleging that Washington's law violates the IDEA. The plaintiffs successfully argued that, because Washington offers adult education programs to 21-year-olds and waives the $25 tuition fee for those who cannot pay, the state provides free public education to nondisabled students through age 21, which makes the IDEA exception inapplicable. The court further stated that, "The state's policy of aging students out of special education at the end of the school year in which they turn 21 pursuant to [state statute] and [state administrative rule] presently violates the IDEA, has violated the IDEA at all times during the two years preceding the filing of this lawsuit, and will continue to violate the IDEA absent a substantial change in the state's policies for charging and waiving tuition for its adult secondary education programs."
Transition Planning.
Multiple state agencies provide services to people with disabilities. These agencies include the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington State School for the Blind, the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth, the Department of Social and Health Services, and the Department of Services for the Blind. Some of these agencies collaborate to support students receiving special education in the transition from school to post school life.
Special Education.
Special education and related services for students with disabilities must be provided to the end of the school year in which a student with disabilities turns age 22, or high school graduation, whichever occurs first.
Education-related provisions applicable to students under age 21 are extended to students with disabilities to the end of the school year in which the students turn age 22, for example:
Transition Planning.
By October 30, 2026, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Social and Health Services, the Department of Services for the Blind, and any other state agency working with individuals with disabilities must collaborate to update the implementation plan for improving transition planning activities for students likely to become eligible for services from the Developmental Disabilities Administration. In updating the plan, the state agencies must consult with nonprofit providers of high school transition services and advocates for students with individualized education programs. The updated implementation plan should include the provision of coordinated transition services, examples of how coordinated transition services can be provided to students between the ages of 16 and 22 to ensure a seamless transition from school to post school life, and how transition services are provided in a way that supplements and not supplants state special education funding.