DETAILS
- Lawsuit Ruling & WSSEC Recommendations
- Court's Opinion in Special Ed Lawsuit
- Amicus Declaration of Washington State Special Education Coalition
- WSSEC Public Policy Chair Comments on Special Ed Funding & Current Trial
- Letter on Sp. Ed. Funding Structure
- Response to Letter on Sp. Ed. Funding Structure
- Presentation for House Appropriations
- Fall 2004 Status Report
- Comments on Special Education Lawsuit
- August 2004 Letter
- Open Letter to Superintendents, Citizens and Legislators
- Response to Attacks on Special Ed.
Funding and Finance
Washington State is constitutionally required to fully fund education.
State funding is sent to districts based on the average amounts listed below. (Revenue) Local districts spend the money based, in part, on local accounting practices and individual district decisions. (Expenditures) In addition to the average amount of $8181 generated by each sp ed student, Safety Net dollars are available to districts for high cost students.
Too often, no mention is made of the basic education dollars generated by every student. This includes the WASA, "Ample School Funding Project." There is no state requirement for local districts to show where and how they spend their basic education allocation.
Every child in Washington State generates BEA (Basic Education Allocation) dollars. Safety Net dollars are available for high cost students. Sp Ed children do NOT deplete the basic education system.
(Graph of State Special Ed. funding. See table below for data)
Christie Perkins/September 2005
| Student Type | Basic Funding | Extra Funding | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Ed. Student | $4237 | $0 | $4237 |
| LAP Student | $4237 | $436 | $4687 |
| Billing Student | $4237 | $721 | $4999 |
| Sp. Ed. Student | $4237 | $3679 | $8181 |
Most Recent JLARC Joint Legislative Audit & Review Committee Report
on Special Ed Excess Cost Accounting and Reporting Requirements.
(February,2006)