Lawmakers in Olympia have taken major steps toward fully funding special education. On Wednesday (April 16), the House voted 97-0 to pass Senate Bill 5263, which removes the long-criticized enrollment cap on state special education funding and boosts financial support for school districts across the state.
PSE believes additional investments toward fully funding special education will help stabilize school district budgets all across the state, increase support for disabled students, and preserve classified jobs.
Under current law, the state only provides extra funding for special education services for up to 16% of a district’s student population. Many districts exceed that percentage and are forced to cover the funding difference with local levy dollars. In the 2022–23 school year, that gap totaled $590 million statewide.
SB 5263 eliminates that cap and increases the funding formula, known as the multiplier, used to calculate state support for each student receiving special education services. The bill also simplifies the formula and improves access to the state’s safety net program, which offers additional help for high-cost special education needs.
All told, the changes are estimated to send $870 million more to districts over the next two budget cycles — a compromise between the House and Senate, which originally sought closer to $2 billion.
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