A flurry of special education bills hit Olympia

Plus more on that militia bill, a shout out to Congress, and recommended reading on that spat over AG money

The conversation in education circles, and now the statehouse, points to the desire to make meaningful changes to how special education is paid for in Washington. A few bills circulating in both chambers propose different solutions to the persistent challenge of fully funding special education.

Why you should care about this: Special education is part of the state’s “paramount duty” to provide all children with free public education, including those with disabilities; a hard-fought federal civil right. Despite this, special education is acutely underfunded in Washington. That’s why last year, Superintendent Chris Reykdal asked the state to invest $1 billion in new spending for special education from 2025-27 to help backfill this expensive entitlement. Whether he gets that cash is TBD, but lawmakers are paying special interest to this education equity challenge.

One of Reykdal’s top policy priorities was to remove the 16% cap on state dollars for special education. School districts get state money based on the average annual enrollment of special education students relative to basic education student enrollment, but that money is capped at 16%. This leaves school districts with more than 16% of their students assigned individual education plans out of luck, and many school districts report dipping into local levy dollars to subsidize the state’s obligation for special education.

It was a major challenge to find accessible photos of inclusive classrooms where children with special education needs are learning and playing with their non-disabled peers. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.