On Sept. 30, 2004, Eleven of the 296 school districts in the state of Washington (Bellingham, Bethel, Burlington-Edison, Everett, Federal Way, Issaquah, Lake Washington, Mercer Island, Northshore, Riverside and Spokane) filed a law suit against the state, the governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the President of the Senate, the & Speaker of the House. The suit seeks to force the state to fully pay for special education. The complaint, #04-2-02000-7, was filed in Thurston County and should be available by Monday from the County Clerk, 360-786-6305.

The WSSEC does not agree with the numbers that the group, “School Districts’ Alliance for Adequate Funding of Special Education” is using. Special education audits were discontinued some time ago and there is no state requirement for a transparent accounting system. There is not even a relationship between funding and special ed monitoring rules. In addition, Safety Net applications are sometimes made without properly formulated IEP’s to support the request. There is no “cap” on special education. There is a financial index of 13% Without accurate accounting and documentation, we obviously cannot support the numbers given to us. We are also, once again, saddened that school leaders would choose to focus on the most vulnerable students and thus imply that it is the fault of some students and their needs that impose a hardship on all.

There are others who are working on a possible basic ed law suit, and that is where the WSSEC believes we should all be working together.

This special ed suit will just cause more divisiveness and misunderstanding. Special Ed funding is based on a ratio of basic ed funding. While special education students generate, on average, over $4,000, over and above their basic education allocation, Learning Assistance Program students (LAP) only generate about $430. and ELL/Bilingual students only about $720. Many more students have special needs that are not being met and yet they are not as worthy as special education students?

Basic ed is in crisis and we need to increase funding for all.

We are already alarmed at the way some dedicated, but misinformed educators, parents and even students have been used to try to gain publicity for the group that calls themselves, “School Districts’ Alliance for Adequate Funding of Special Education.” We are conferring with our own attorneys, including our President, as to our next steps.

Further information is available on the WSSEC website at www.wssec.org on the front page as well as on Bits & Pieces.

Please contact Christie Perkins, edadvocate@mac.com or 253.588.0637 if you would like additional information &/or copies of information previously referred to.