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.

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Idaho State University has been awarded $2.2 million in grants to train students and educators who will work with children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Idaho State University鈥檚 Department of Communications and Disorders was awarded two grants from the Office of Special Education Personnel Preparation that will make $2.2 million in grant funding available over the next five years, according to a news release last week by Idaho State University.

The Idaho Hearing Education and Aural Rehabilitation program, often referred to as the HEAR program, will use the grant funding for training, tuition and stipends for 42 students who are studying to become service providers in speech language pathology or audiology, university officials said. Grant funding will also support educators who teach children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

鈥淭he model we have running family-to-family support through a university is unique in the country and comes with benefits that are particularly helpful in a rural state like Idaho,鈥� Idaho State University Professor Kristina Blaiser, the grant recipient and principal investigator for the HEAR program, said in a written statement. 鈥淭he integration of technology helps bring families together, regardless of their geographic locations. Instead of feeling isolated with a low incidence diagnosis, families feel connected and empowered.鈥�

Idaho State University officials said the program will benefit Idaho parents and families because there is a shortage of speech language pathologists, audiologists and early intervention personnel in the state.

鈥淎s a parent of a child who is hard-of-hearing, I can attest that there is significant need for this type of training program,鈥� Pocatello parent Shelly Estevez said in a written statement provided by ISU.

University officials said they plan to accept the first cohort of students into the HEAR program in fall 2024.

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Children and adults who would benefit from various therapies to learn or to regain certain developmental abilities can get that help and more during three consecutive four-day that start July 17 at the University of Texas at El Paso.

For the second year in a row, UTEP鈥檚 Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic will conduct its free bilingual sessions from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Campbell Building, 1101 N. Campbell St. Each two-hour lesson will balance work with fun, organizers said.

Twenty-nine of UTEP鈥檚 speech-language pathology graduate students, backed by four clinical faculty and a staff member, will assist participants ages 5 to senior adults to work on their voice, fluency, aphasia, social skills, and/or the effects of traumatic brain injury to name a few areas.

Among the participants who plans to attend all three sessions is Kivana Herrera, a 19-year-old Sunset Heights resident on the global developmental delay spectrum. In other words, it takes her longer to achieve certain developmental milestones. Her focus this summer will be to enhance her speech and social skills.

鈥淪he loves it,鈥� said Iris Herrera, Kivana鈥檚 mother. 鈥淭hey work on things, but they are made to be fun and exciting, so it doesn鈥檛 feel like therapy. We think (the summer sessions) are awesome. We wish there were more.鈥�

Herrera said one of Kivana鈥檚 speech therapists recommended in spring 2022 that the family try UTEP鈥檚 summer sessions. The mother said those sessions helped Kivana increase the number of words she uses in a sentence.

As a result, the family registered Kivana for the free SLHC, which conducts one-on-one sessions during the academic year. These also are important for UTEP鈥檚 speech-language pathology students who learn how to conduct assessments and suggest treatments under the supervision of faculty, who are licensed speech-language pathologists.

Herrera said that Kivana enjoys working with the therapists because most are young, and they can talk about clothes, trips, music and social activities. She added that the UTEP therapists have great personalities, and know how to motivate her daughter to work harder.

Herrera鈥檚 praise brought a smile to UTEP鈥檚 Deena Peterson, coordinator of the summer sessions and a clinical instructor of speech language and hearing sciences. Those comments echoed the verbal and written feedback Peterson received from families of participants from the previous summer, especially from families of school-age children who do not receive therapy outside the academic year.

Many noted how the sessions made their loved ones more competent and confident in their ability to communicate. They mentioned the enthusiasm of the student therapists and their genuine desire to help. As of mid-June, a good percentage of those registered for the 2023 sessions had participated last summer.

Peterson said that these free activities help El Paso鈥檚 underserved community members, who sometimes exhaust their health care benefits. She expects to enroll about 100 people for the summer sessions. The participants, separated by age and therapy needs, will use several of the labs, classrooms and conference rooms on the building鈥檚 first and second floors. The participant-student ratio will be less than 2-1.

Susan Maga帽a and Kristin Apodaca, both second-year speech language pathology graduate students, said they enjoyed the one-on-one sessions as part of the clinic, but looked forward to group therapy to practice behavior management techniques and working with children and adults with different goals. They talked about the upcoming sessions in the main therapy lab, which includes two walls with shelves stacked high with colorful toys, books and games used during the clinics and summer sessions.

鈥淲e鈥檒l get to learn a lot at the same time,鈥� said Maga帽a, a 1987 Austin High School graduate who, with her husband, operated a used car lot and home remodeling business before she decided to return to school after her children reached adulthood.

Her interest in her second career was personal. She raised four children with various disabilities to include hearing loss, dyslexia, high-functioning autism and attention-deficit disorder. In recent years, she witnessed her grandparents deal with their Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. In all cases, she saw how effective therapists could be.

Maga帽a said that the summer sessions were a great way children could bridge the therapy gap between the academic years.

Apodaca, a 2019 graduate of Hanks High School, has been interested in a speech language pathology career since high school when she would attend health fairs with her mother, a speech-language pathologist who was happy to help others improve their quality of life through therapy. One thing she has learned as an SLP student is that therapy is harder than it appears.

鈥淚t looks as if we鈥檙e playing, but there is a lot of intention behind everything we do because of how the brain and speech work,鈥� Apodaca said. 鈥淵ou have to find the right strategies for the client.鈥�

Apodaca said she looked forward to working with and learning from her clients, as well as the other members of her cohort.

鈥淵ou know that everyone鈥檚 heart is in it,鈥� Apodaca said. 鈥淓veryone wants to give back.鈥�

Online registration is the best way to secure a spot, but people who cannot register online may contact the program at 915-747-7250 or speechclinic@utep.edu. Those individuals will need to come early on the first day of the session to fill out the necessary consent agreements.

Peterson said she plans to invite representatives from family resource centers to set up information tables in the first-floor student lounge for parents, guardians and caregivers who must stay during the sessions. After the lessons, the student therapists will debrief the parents/caregivers about the therapy conducted that day and how they can continue the learning process at home.

The work the UTEP students do during the summer sessions will benefit them during the 2023-24 academic year as they will work in school and hospital settings prior to graduation.

The summer sessions will follow a separate activity for children ages 5 to 17 who stutter. will operate from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 10-14 in the Campbell Building. This free, intensive therapy program was organized by the at the University of Texas at Austin.

Peterson, who is familiar with the bilingual camp but not associated with it, said the center involves a lot of resources and a lot of fun to include a live deejay daily. She added that the same 29 graduate students who will be part of her sessions will help at the UT Austin camp.

鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be fun for the kids. It will be a fun, interactive environment.”

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