Sen. Braun, Rep. Abbarno introduce bills to streamline access to special-education funding

Senate Republican Leader John Braun and Rep. Peter Abbarno will lead a legislative effort in 2024 to streamline access to additional special-education funding.

To help school districts with extraordinarily high special-education costs, the Legislature enacted a “Safety Net” program decades ago. Many districts, however, have found the process of applying for Safety Net funding to be overly complicated and burdensome, especially for small school districts with limited staffing resources. Simple errors can result in funding-award reductions of up to 45%. 

To cut the red tape, the 20th District lawmakers have introduced identical bills in the House and Senate that would ultimately simplify the Safety Net application process by reducing administrative barriers. Their legislation also would reform how applications are reviewed, which should aid districts in obtaining the added funding.

“The Legislature can and should be doing much more to make our state’s special-education system more responsive to parents and the students it’s supposed to serve,” Braun said. “While there is still work to do on how districts are allowed to use special-education dollars, let’s also work on getting them more funding to begin with. The fact that this idea came to us from local school officials tells us it should benefit many districts.”

“The state must do more to ensure that we’re providing every student in Washington with a quality education,” said Abbarno. “Special education has not received adequate attention in recent years, especially during the pandemic. Making it easier for school districts to access supplemental funding is a good first-step.”

The proposal has earned praise from a local school-board member.

“We appreciate our local legislators hearing our feedback and assisting in finding solutions. This bill concept came from our local Lewis County school board/superintendent meetings,” explained Kelsi Hamilton, a member of the Chehalis School District Board of Directors.

“Penalties for errors in an overly burdensome and meticulous application process are unfair to school districts when the services have already been provided. We are hopeful that this collaborative bill will pass and make it easier and more equitable for all school districts to access the critical funds required to meet the needs of our special education students.”

Senate Bill 5852 and House Bill 1973 would:

  • Require the state’s Safety Net Oversight Committee to limit its review of applications to relevant documentation that illustrates adherence to award criteria, and may not make determinations regarding the content of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) beyond confirming documented and quantified services and evidence of corresponding expenditures;
  • Specifies that Safety Net awards must be adjusted only for unresolved audit findings or exceptions related to special-education funding (current state law is broader and includes all audit findings or exceptions);
  • Provides that Safety Net awards may only be adjusted for errors in applications or IEPs that materially affect the demonstration of need;
  • Requires the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to develop a survey requesting feedback from small school districts regarding:
    • The average amount of time spent by school district staff gathering Safety Net application data, filling out application forms, and correcting application deficiencies; and
    • The application components that are the most challenging and time-consuming for school districts to complete.
  • Requires OSPI, by December 2025, to use the survey feedback to implement a simplified, standardized Safety Net application for all school districts that reduces barriers to accessing the funding.

The 2024 legislative session will convene Jan. 8.   

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Washington State House Republican Communications
houserepublicans.wa.gov