Special Education Multipliers and Enrollment.
The state allocates funding for a program of special education for students with disabilities using an excess cost formula. For eligible students in kindergarten through age 21 (K-21), the formula multiplies a school district's base allocation by an excess cost multiplier up to an enrollment limit of 16 percent of a school district's full-time student enrollment. Students in K-21 receiving special education generate funding through both the base allocation and excess cost formulas.
School districts receive a tiered excess cost multiplier based on inclusion in a general education setting for K-21 special education students. A multiplier of 1.12 is provided for special education students that spend at least 80 percent of the school day in a general education setting. For students in a general education setting less than 80 percent of the time, districts receive a 1.06 multiplier. Funding has been provided in the last three biennial operating budgets for professional development to promote the inclusion of special education students within general education classrooms.
Prior to kindergarten, students ages 3 to 5 (Pre-K) receiving special education services receive a multiplier of 1.2. Children with disabilities ages birth to 3 that receive early intervention services through the Department of Children, Youth, and Families' Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) program receive a multiplier of 1.15.
Safety Net Funding.
Beyond allocations from excess cost multipliers, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) may provide safety net funding if a school district has one or more high-need individual (HNI) students or is in a community impacted by large numbers of families with children eligible for special education, such as communities with group homes, regional hospitals, or military bases. For HNI awards, the school district's expenditures for the student must exceed an expenditure threshold. Currently, the threshold for a student in any district to access state safety net funds is 2.2 times the statewide average per pupil expenditure (APPE) for school districts with more than 1,000 full-time equivalent students, and 2 times the APPE for school districts with fewer than 1,000 full-time equivalent students. Most safety net awards come from state funding and cover HNI costs, while community impact awards comprise a smaller portion of the safety net. Safety net awards are distributed annually in August of each school year.
As part of its duties related to special education, the OSPI may authorize out-of-state entities to contract with a school district to provide a program of special education for students with disabilities. Students receiving services out-of-state are eligible for safety net awards if they reach the expenditure threshold.
General Apportionment Funding Used for Special Education.
The K-21 students receiving special education services generate funding through both general apportionment, also referred to as the basic education allocation (BEA), and excess cost formulas. The OSPI is required to develop an allocation and cost accounting methodology to ensure general apportionment funding is prorated and allocated to a student's special education program and accounted for before calculating special education excess cost when services are provided outside of the general education setting. A portion of the BEA amount based on the least restrictive environment (LRE) percentage of time a student is outside a general education setting is redirected from general apportionment and dedicated to special education purposes by the OSPI.
The formulas for special education also apply to charter schools and tribal schools in state-tribal education compacts.
Excess Cost Multipliers.
For K-21 students spending 80 percent or more of the school day in a general education setting, the multiplier is increased from 1.12 to 1.186. For K-21 students spending less than 80 percent of the school day in a general education setting, the multiplier is increased from 1.06 to 1.09.
The multiplier for ESIT students ages birth to 3 is increased from 1.15 to the multiplier used for Pre-K students receiving special education services, which is currently 1.2.
The Legislature intends to review an upcoming report by the State Auditor's Office on the prevalence of disabilities in consideration of future increases to the enrollment cap.
Inclusionary Practices Grants to Schools.
Subject to amounts appropriated, the OSPI must award grants to up to 20 pilot schools to support school-wide centers of excellence for inclusionary practices. Selected schools will receive grant funding to bring them to a multiplier of 1.5 for special education students each year for four school years.
Safety Net.
Safety net awards are distributed quarterly, rather than annually, if the school district receiving the award is a second-class school district, meaning it has less than 2,000 students, or if the award meets the following criteria:
General Apportionment Funding Directed to Special Education.
Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the allocation and cost accounting methodology for special education (SPED) is changed as follows:
Statewide Special Education Activities.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) is required to engage in statewide activities to support special education students. Up to 0.5 percent of the allocations from excess cost multipliers can be reserved by the SPI for statewide activities.
Statewide activities must include an annual review of data, including the percentage of students receiving special education services, to ensure there is not a disproportionate identification of students, and technical assistance to school districts with disproportionate data.
Optionally, the SPI may provide professional development to expand inclusionary practices to local education agencies, schools, and community partners, reduce exclusionary practices like student isolation and restraint, and maintain common templates and resources, including a statewide tool for individualized education programs.
The SPI must report annually to the Legislature on the statewide activities funded using the reserved excess cost allocations by December 1 of each year. The 2025 and 2026 reports must include an update on the impact of removing the cap on the special education enrollment percentage and safety net needs.
Demonstration Projects.
Subject to appropriations, the OSPI must provide grants for the demonstration projects established under the 2023-25 State Omnibus Operating Appropriations Act. To the extent funding is sufficient, the OSPI must provide grants to support inclusive teaching practices, including escalation prevention, and student behavior management practices for six demonstration sites ready to exhibit adopted best practices and 16 pilot sites committed to adopting best practices, as well as funding for best practices training for the pilot sites.
The demonstration sites must showcase specified practices, for example: behavior management and crisis de-escalation strategies, needs assessments, use of regulation spaces, reduced use of student isolation and restraint, inclusionary practices, and incident data collection and reporting. The demonstration sites must continue to serve as learning communities and examples for other school districts to observe positive practices in real-world settings.
The pilot sites must take advantage of learning experiences provided by state contractors and demonstration sites to build systems that incorporate positive, trauma-informed behavior support practices to prevent crisis escalation and reduce the use of restraint and isolation. The pilot sites must improve data collection and reporting systems and complete other tasks to achieve the project goal.
By November 15, 2026, the OSPI must submit to the Legislature a final report on the demonstration projects. The report must, to the extent possible, quantify the impact of the demonstration projects in terms of student outcomes. It must also address key implementation challenges and findings, as well as include recommendations for statewide policy changes.
The OSPI must use information gathered from demonstration projects and provide technical assistance to develop a strategy and timeline for prohibiting isolation of students in prekindergarten through grade 5. The goal date for the prohibition should be July 1, 2031. The OSPI is to report to the Legislature on the plan by December 1, 2027.
The House Appropriations Committee's amendment strikes the underlying bill and replaces it with provisions that:
(In support) Current funding for special education is insufficient. Costs often exceed state funding, forcing districts to use general education or local levy funds. School districts are dealing with multiyear budget gaps in special education between what the state provides and the actual cost. The lack of funding can negatively impact all students and lead to inadequate support for students with disabilities, hindering their academic progress and overall well-being. Student needs are becoming more complex. The state should fully fund special education as a matter of basic educational equity and a constitutional duty of the state. The bill has bipartisan support and reflects the state's commitment to fund the education of those most vulnerable, even in tough economic times.
Districts are using local levy funds to cover basic special education costs, which should be used for enrichment programs. Rising special education costs and growing caseloads are contributing to district budget deficits and cuts. Superintendents are experts in education but must invest their energy in deciding how to cut excellent teachers rather than implementing systems that improve students' reading and math abilities. Multiple school districts have reported deficits primarily due to a lack of state funding. Adequate funding is needed to provide necessary staff and resources.
This robust bill addresses all three levers of special education funding: the multiplier, the enrollment cap, and the safety net. The 16 percent cap on state-funded special education students should be removed or raised. Removing the cap would benefit smaller and rural districts. The current funding multiplier is too low to cover actual costs. The increase to the special education funding multipliers is needed, including for early intervention. The multiplier will need to increase even more to completely address some districts' deficits. Safety net funding is difficult to access and often insufficient. Lowering the threshold and streamlining access to the safety net is important. Do not reduce the policy increases in the bill.
Recent investments have had a positive impact for many students, including the medically fragile preschool student that needs a full-time nurse, and the child that requires access to speech therapy. Districts have used recent investments to improve inclusion of special education students in general education settings, update staff training, and increase graduation rates for students with disabilities.
The first three years of life are crucial, and early intervention can ensure that children with delays and disabilities receive needed therapies. Early intervention programs can reduce the need for more intensive and costly special education services later. The establishment of set-aside funding for statewide activities can be used for these programs as well. Please also consider adding eliminating isolation to the scope of work funded by the set aside.
(Opposed) Removing the 16 percent cap will lead to the over-identification of students for special education services and increased costs. Best practices show that only 5 percent of students should meet the threshold of severe physical and medical disabilities that special education is designed to help. Increasing the multiplier would be a better use for additional funding.
(In support) Mary Templeton, School Alliance; Dr. Brent Jones, Superintendent, Seattle Public Schools; Dr. Ivan Duran, Superintendent, Highline Public Schools; Dr. Kelly Aramaki, Superintendent, Bellevue School District; Sandy Hayes, Washington State School Directors' Association, Northshore School District; Nikki Otero Lockwood, Washington State School Directors' Association, Spokane Public Schools; Melissa Beard, Washington State School Directors' Association, Tumwater School District; Malorie Larson, Shoreline PTA Council; Larry Delaney, Washington Education Association; Angela Steck, President, Washington State PTA; Samantha Fogg, Seattle Council PTSA Co-President; Mitch Denning, Alliance of Educational Associations; Misha Cherniske, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI); Shaun Carey, WA Association of School Admin President-Elect; Paree Raval; Martin Turney, Issaquah School District; Rob Bryant, CFO—Federal Way Public Schools; Patrick Murphy, Olympia School District; Colleen Fuchs, Early Childhood Development Association of WA; Julie Shin, Boyer Children's Clinic; Collete Paulson, Parent; and Ramona Hattendorf, The Arc of King County.