The Internal Revenue Service requires me to report all of the money I make, including any savings in my bank account and any & all payments received for the work I do. They do not allow me to avoid reporting any revenue at all.
Some of the school districts in Washington State do not seem to feel that they need to report all revenue to the state or local taxpayers, though, when it comes to students who receive special education services.
Some school districts are claiming that they have unfunded special education costs, and their school districts have voted to sue the state. However, they are not including any of the basic education allocation funds that each of those students generates. In other words, they seem to think that the entire program for any given special ed students should be paid for with special ed excess cost dollars. They do not want to account for any of the basic education dollars. These are not levy dollars, although I think special ed students are entitled to their portion of levy dollars, too. Basic Education Allocation (BEA) funds are the dollars that every K-12 student in the state generates into the school district, based on formulas that try to assure equity for all 296 districts.
The state does an admirable job, compared to other states, of trying to distribute basic ed funds in a fair and equitable manner. The excellent State PTA study confirmed this. The BEA amount per student is not enough, but the mechanism is reasonably fair. The BEA amount, per student, for each district is based on the seniority of the staff and other factors. For simplicity sake, I will use the state average for my calculations.
Federal Way School District claims to have lost $2,850,999 in unfunded special education costs. They added up all of their special ed revenue ($12,563,862) and subtracted it from their special ed expenditures ($15,414,862) and came up with $2,850,999. They have not accounted for the BEA revenue that the speciall education students generate. If their special ed population is 12%, that would be about $10,206,240. In other words, the TOTAL REVENUE for the specialecial ed students = $22,770,102 and the special education expenditure = $15,414,862, leaving $7,155.220 left for the students basic ed programs. $22 million is not less than $15 million.
Issaquah School District claims to have $2,777,394 in unfunded special education costs. They added up all of their special ed revenue ($7,555,858) and subtracted it from their special ed expenditures ($10,333,252) and came up with $2,777,394. They have not accounted for the BEA revenue that the special education students generate. If their special ed population is 12%, that would be about $6,403,024. In other words, the TOTAL REVENUE for the special ed students = $13,958,882 and the special education expenditure = $10,333,252, leaving $3,625,630 left for the students basic ed program. $14 million is not less than $10 million.
Lake Washington School District claims to have $2,134,712 in unfunded special education costs. They added up all of their special ed revenue ($11,855,652 and subtracted it from their special ed expenditures ($13,990,364) and came up with $2,134,712. They have not accounted for the BEA revenue that the special education students generate. If their special ed population is 11%, (Lake Wa. has a smaller %) that would be about $10,801,604. In other words, the TOTAL REVENUE for the special ed students = $22,657,256 and the special education expenditure = $13,990,364, leaving $8,666,892 left for the students basic ed program. $23 million is not less than $14 million.
There is no doubt that districts need more funds, but blaming special ed students is not the way to do it. Basic Ed itself is seriously underfunded. At least one study shows Wa State as 42nd in the nation. In addition, our other programs are funded at a down right embarrassing level:
LAP (Learning Assistance Program) funds, are, on average $423 per student.
For Federal Way, using the same head count as special ed, that would equal $1,116,720 in excess cost dollars (compared to the $12,563,862 for special ed excess cost dollars).
ELL (English Language Learners) funds, on average, are $720 per student.
For Federal Way, that would be $1,874,400 for the same number of students, in special ed, who generate $12,563,862 of excess cost dollars into the district.
I could calculate the numbers for Issaquah and Lake Washington, but I think it is obvious, how little these other needy areas receive.
Certain individual special ed students have extremely high cost programs, but this is offset by the very large majority who have low cost special programs. For instance, many students receive only 20 minutes of speech therapy a week but generate the same basic ed and special ed funds into the district as students who need more intensive special ed programs. There is also a Safety Net available for districts to use when they have “high cost students.” This is not, as some believe, all that complicated, and there is a full time staff person at the state Superintendents office to help districts. Last year there were five Safety Net meetings and an additional sixth one for districts who needed to reapply.
While there are many stories about litigation in special ed, there are actually very few Due Process Hearings, and there is almost never an actual court case. Parents do not have attorneys on retainer and seldom sue or even request a Due Process Hearing.
These districts have a golden opportunity to talk about the serious shortfall in funding in Washington State. We believe that more funds are critically needed for basic education, and for LAP and ELL in particular. It is shocking that these districts have chosen to scapegoat students receiving special ed services and blame them for the funding problem in Washington State. We believe it is discriminatory to continue to continue to do this and to continue to suggest that their presence in the public school system keeps other students from receiving the resources they so richly deserve.
Special education audits were discontinued two years ago. They should resume immediately. In addition, there has been some discussion that we should also recommend a connection to the special ed monitoring results – or at least the corrective action plans. Currently, there is no relationship between monitoring reports and funding – not even Safety Net application.
The WSSEC has consistently recommended a simple revenue to expenses accounting system for the entire education system. Perhaps now would be the time to begin. Transparency improves accountability and the public should be able to easily understand everything, including special ed revenue, in total, and expenditures.
Christie Perkins
and the WSSEC Legislative Committee