Special Education Safety Net Study, 2018. Report to the Legislature

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Old Capitol Building, P.O. Box 47200, Olympia, WA 98504-7200. Tel: 360-725-6000; Web site: http://www.k12.wa.us/

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Special Education; Educational Finance; Financial Support; State Legislation; School Districts; State Aid; Technical Assistance

Safety Net funding is available to local education agencies (LEAs) that demonstrate a need for special education funding in excess of state and federal funding available to the LEA. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) publishes an annual Safety Net bulletin and application forms. House Bill 2242, Sec. 408 (2017) directed the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to review the current Safety Net process, make recommendations of possible adjustments to improve the Safety Net process, and to evaluate the appropriate funding level to meet the purpose of Safety Net. House Bill 2242 (2017) required the Superintendent to submit recommendations to the governor, as well as the legislative education and operating budget committees by November 1, 2018. In September 2017, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal selected a diverse workgroup of 21 individuals from around the state with knowledge of special education program delivery and funding to perform the requested study. The Superintendent carefully reviewed and considered the outcomes of the workgroup and the approved recommendations fall into two groups: (1) Changes to the process that do not have a fiscal impact and are included in draft revisions to Revised Code of Washington (RCW) and Washington Administrative Code (WAC), where appropriate; and (2) Changes that have a fiscal impact include changes to the special education multiplier, increased full-time equivalent (FTE) for Safety Net, and development of an electronic submission process. The purpose of this report is to summarize the efforts of the Special Education Safety Net Legislative Workgroup between October 2017 and August 2018, as well as to describe the recommendations for changes.

ERIC

2019

ED595946