July 31, 2006

To Governor Gregoire & WA Learns Members

Subject: Response to WA Learns meetings of July 2006

Washington Learns contracted with Odden & Picus to perform an analysis of the funding system in Washington State. Their report recommends keeping the special education funding system as it currently exists, and increasing the Basic Education Allocation for all, in order to drive more money into the system which would increase funding for both basic education and special education.

In June, a sub-group met to discuss Special Education funding. That group was apparently an informal group that consisted of OSPI staff and some members of the WA Learns committee. Because other stakeholders were not invited or allowed to attend the meeting, they were unable to provide input. Therefore, we do not have a clear understanding of all that was discussed within that meeting, nor do we understand the reasoning behind the recommendations that were then presented to WA Learns on June 28. Those recommendations included:

1. Keep special education as a derivative of basic ed allocation

2. Enhance the basic education amount by adding in other programs, i.e. LAP, career and tech ed for special ed funding calculation purposes only which might reduce the need for safety net

3. Study the index of 12.7% to see if it is necessary

4. Remove the 18-21 year olds from the 12.7% index

The Washington State Special Education Coalition position on these funding recommendations for special education is as follows:

1. The Coalition supports the Odden & Picus Report recommendation to keep the special education funding system as it currently exists, including maintaining special education funding as a derivative of the Basic Education Allocation.
2. The Coalition supports an increase to the Basic Education Allocation for all which will have the effect of providing much needed additional funds to basic education while increasing funding to special education as well.
3. The Coalition supports the removal of students under ages 3-4 from the 12.7%. This was previously before the legislature and failed to pass. It makes sense to remove these students (approximately 8000 FTE) from the 12.7% while increasing their funding to the same calculation as the birth to 3 year olds at 1.15 X the BEA. If the state were to proceed in this manner, it would:
   • eliminate more students from the 12.7%,
   • drive more money into special education and
   • reduce the need for safety net.

   Students from birth through 4 are not covered in the Basic Education Act, while those aged 18-21 are included under the act. The Coalition believes that the removal of 18-21 (approximately 2000 FTE) year olds from the 12.7% would be an act of discrimination as schools are currently serving non-special education students within that age group.

4. The Coalition opposes the special education funding scheme of an enhancement of the Basic Education Allocation for funding calculations, just for special ed. or any sub group even on a temporary basis for the following reasons:
   1. The inclusion of other program areas in the Basic

      Education Allocation will confuse the policy makers and the public.

      It will create the false impression that the Basic Education Allocation has actually been raised when in fact other program amounts have been shifted for calculation purposes.

   2. There already exists confusion on the part of many districts in regard to the required use of basic education funds prior to the expenditure of special education (excess cost) dollars. If other program allocations are used to enhance the basic education allocation, it will create additional confusion regarding the expenditure of basic education dollars first for special education students. At this time the basic education allocation is clearly the amount generated per student FTE. The programs used to enhance the basic education allocation are not generated for all students but rather specific students, i.e. career and technical education funds are not provided for non-high school students.

      At this time excess cost accounting should incorporate the basic education allocation plus .9309 X the BEA for a total of 1.9309. Adding other funds to enhance the basic education allocation will make it virtually impossible for districts or the community to know how much of the BEA should be included in the calculation for each special education student to create the 1.9309. Once funds for a programs, such as career and tech ed, are included into the basic ed calculation, it will muddy the waters and cause a lack of clarity regarding the amount of money that should be spent out of basic education prior to expenditure of excess cost funds.

   3. Any increase in special education funds without a similar increase in other categorical programs (LAP, ELL, etc) has historically had the unintended consequence of increasing the referrals to special education. This creates potential issues of dis-proportionality and discriminatory acts.
   4. The direction of the U.S. Department of Education and the US Congress is to create a system where research-based interventions occur in general education prior to referral of students for special education. There is a tremendous need for Basic Education to have a real increase in funding in order to accomplish those interventions. Interventions that are done well will increase the number of students who are able to pass state assessments, reduce the achievement gap, decrease the drop out rate and decrease the number of students referred for special education services.
5. The Coalition supports the use of a full cost accounting model to create transparency in the accounting system. The community should be able to clearly see the amount of basic education as well as the excess cost dollars spent on each special education student.

The Washington State Special Education Coalition wants to express its appreciation for the work of members of Washington Learns. Our Board representatives would be pleased to meet with members of the Washington Learns committee to discuss funding of special education. In addition, we request that all future meetings be posted with sufficient advance notice indicating the time and location so that the public has the opportunity to attend.

Sincerely,

Mary E. McKnew, JD

President

Chrisite Perkins

Public Policy Chair

7602 Jade Dr. SW, Lakewood, WA 98498

edadvocate@mac.com

Our mission – To bring parent/professional organizations together in a spirit of cooperation to share information, explore issues and effectively advocate for quality education for all children, particularly those with special needs in Washington State.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 5th, 2006 at 10:37 am and is filed under FYI. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.