Washington House lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill to increase special education funding by another $185 million in the coming years.

While the funding is in line with a request from Gov. Jay Inslee, critics say it does not go far enough.

But legislative leaders, including majority Democrats, have concerns about how further increases could strain the state budget and whether removing limits on funding could open the door for some schools to claim more money than they need.

will allow up to 17.25% of a district鈥檚 population to receive funding for support services like speech therapy and instructional aides. The Legislature increased that cap from 13.5% to 15% last year. In other words, if 20% of a district鈥檚 population requires special education services, the district cannot get additional money for the remaining 5%.

According to the , the state will spend about $28.6 million more on special education in the 2023-2025 budget, $76.5 million from 2025-2027 and $80 million from 2027-2029.

Even if the bill is approved, lawmakers would separately need to provide money in the budget for the proposed increase and if they don鈥檛, the policy would not take effect.

Democratic Rep. Gerry Pollet of Seattle, chief sponsor of HB 2180, said 鈥渋t鈥檚 unconscionable and probably unconstitutional鈥� that Washington does not fund special education for every child who needs it.

Chris Reykdal, Washington鈥檚 chief education official, that the cap on funding breaks federal law. The cap is particularly burdensome on rural districts with smaller budgets, like Ocean Beach, would qualify for special education funding should the cap be removed.

Lawmakers from both parties have repeatedly called on the Legislature to end the cap entirely. But during the House floor debate, it was Republican lawmakers who forcefully decried it, including Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, who introduced an amendment to remove the cap.

Couture, who has children with disabilities, said removing the cap would be 鈥渕ere pennies鈥� for the Legislature.

鈥淚 have to go home tonight and look my kids in the eyes and talk to families just like mine who go through the hell of IEP meetings and trying to get services and supports that are so desperately under-resourced,鈥� said Couture, referring to individualized education plan meetings for special education students.

鈥淎t least I think I can go back tonight and look at them and say I tried everything that I could,鈥� Couture said. 鈥淭o me, it just seems like the reason that this did not occur is because it was my idea.鈥�

Although Pollet has led the effort to remove the cap on special education in past years, he asked fellow lawmakers to vote against Couture鈥檚 amendment, saying his original bill would provide funding faster.

鈥淟et鈥檚 do the best we can right away,鈥� he said.

Last year, Pollet鈥檚 to gradually lift the cap before fully removing it by 2027-2028 was amended before passage to set the 15% limit that鈥檚 now in place.

Democratic leadership said they plan to support school funding in other ways, such as increasing compensation for paraeducators.

Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, said removing the cap would require reductions elsewhere in the state budget, and he welcomes Republican input on what should be cut.

鈥淸Republicans] think they can fund everything without cutting anything,鈥� Billig said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com. Follow Washington State Standard on and .

TOPEKA 鈥� Rep. Kristey Williams and Sen. Renee Erickson agreed there was little value in convening a task force to study the state鈥檚 shortfall in funding public school special education programs because the financial issues were too complex and the only remedy suggested by education advocacy groups was too simplistic.

The lawmakers said it would be folly to hold hearings of the Special Education and Related Services Task Force with legislators, teachers, parents and other stakeholders to gather testimony and shape recommendations on a fix for the 2024 Legislature.

The goal of the task force, required by a bill approved by the 2023 Legislature, was to figure out how best to comply with an older statute mandating that state funding cover 92% of the extra cost of providing services to K-12 special education students statewide. Currently, state aid was sufficient to address 69% of school districts鈥� excess special education costs. The balance must be made up by local school districts.

鈥淭here is no way a funding task force could begin to crack that code,鈥� said Williams, an Augusta Republican.

Erickson, a Wichita Republican, said the Kansas State Board of Education and an assortment of public education organizations had offered one remedy to the 92% dilemma 鈥� appropriation of nearly $200 million annually to close the gap.

鈥淲e do not need a special education task force meeting to consider their position,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have their input, which is just more money. We don鈥檛 need a task force to convene to discuss that part.鈥�

On Friday afternoon, however, Williams and Erickson were expected to sit down with others on the task force for their first and, perhaps, only meeting. The gathering might not have occurred had a six-person majority of task force members not invoked parliamentary procedure in November to force Williams鈥� hand. She relented and set the meeting for three days prior to start of the 2024 session.

Task force rebellion

Interim legislative meetings typically take place in summer and fall to give committee members time to write reports pulling together expert testimony and outlining reform proposals for review by lawmakers during the next legislative session.

Williams, who was placed in charge of the task force pending the members鈥� election of a chair, said a mere two hours would be dedicated to oral testimony of subject-matter experts and for task force deliberations. She said written testimony would be accepted by the task force comprised of five members of the House or Senate 鈥� four Republicans, one Democrat 鈥� and six people not in the Legislature.

The list of 13 given a chance to speak for five minutes each to the task force included people with the Kansas Association of School Boards, Kansas National Education Association, Kansas PTA, Game On for Kansas Schools as well as the Kansas State Department of Education and the Kansas Policy Institute. School administrators and a teacher will be given a turn at the microphone, but its not clear the task force could comprehensively take input, consider options and prepare recommendations for legislators in 120 minutes.

The first order of business must be to select a chairperson of the task force. Legislators, lobbyists and educators said that step became a flash point several months ago when it appeared Williams lacked votes among task force peers to retain the position of task force chair. In response, special education advocates said, Williams stonewalled and publicly expressed skepticism the task force was worthwhile.

In an interview in October, Louisburg GOP Sen. Molly Baumgardner, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, dismissed that theory. She said the delay wasn鈥檛 inspired by Williams鈥� unwillingness to give up narrative control of the task force.

鈥淎nytime you鈥檙e trying to schedule when we鈥檙e not in session, it is a real juggling match to get folks together,鈥� said Baumgardner, who is on the special education task force. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e trying to satisfy a variety of different schedules so that the largest number of folks can be there and participate and we鈥檝e had some problems with interim meetings, just scheduling times.鈥�

A majority of the task force made multiple requests of Williams to move ahead with the task force鈥檚 work before deploying a procedural maneuver to compel the meeting. Williams set the meeting for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Friday in Room 112-North of the Capitol.

鈥楴ot 鈥� going away鈥�

Kansas spends more than $500 million annually in federal, state and local funding on special education services in public schools, but hasn鈥檛 complied with the 92% requirement since 2011. However, the statute didn鈥檛 include enforcement mechanisms to compel the Legislature to meet the obligation.

The idea of convening a task force was viewed as an alternative to the 2023 Legislature dealing with a situation in which districts had to pull money from the general education budget to fill the special education gap. Instead of allocating $182 million to meet the statewide shortfall in the 2023-2024 school year, the Legislature agreed to increase appropriations for special education by $7.6 million for the year.

Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, endorsed a plan to add $72 million in 2024 to initiate a five-year plan to surge special education aid to 92%. The state Board of Education preferred a four-year strategy that would infuse $82 million annually to reach that threshold.

Williams and other legislators rejected the phased concepts and endorsed appointment of a task force on special education. She also urged the Legislature to complete a rewrite of the state鈥檚 special education funding blueprint by 2027.

Rep. Adam Thomas, an Olathe Republican on the task force, said he was convinced the Legislature had to rework the state鈥檚 special education formula to correct inconsistencies in distribution of money to districts.

鈥淭he formula itself is confusing. There鈥檚 some flaws in statute,鈥� he said. 鈥淥bviously, we know after all these conversations about special ed, it鈥檚 not something that鈥檚 going to go away.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on and .