Special Education Funding

HB 2180 – Increasing the special education enrollment funding cap.

Only one bill remains alive that would increase the current funding cap from 15 percent to 17.25 percent. It has been sitting in House Rules for a while and must be voted on and moved to the floor calendar.

Action

Email members of the House Rules Committee to ask them to vote on HB 2180 so that it can be pulled to the floor calendar.

Talking Points

• The entire system benefits by prioritizing our students with disabilities.
• School district expenditures for special education and related services still substantially exceed special education funding.
• Districts are forced to use levy dollars (if they have them) to provide the required services and supports to some of our most vulnerable students.
• This is not only a legal imperative, but a moral one.
• Raising the cap only costs the state a small overall dollar amount but has significant impact for those 120+ districts and their students who would benefit from it.

Every day matters and your timely and ongoing advocacy is essential. Follow us on Instagram @wssda_1477 for action alerts and feel free to contact us anytime for ideas, tools, and support at strategicadvocacy@wssda.org.

Tracking floor activity can be perplexing as calendars are populated consistently but on no particular schedule. To help de-mystify the floor calendar and process, our very own Mike Hoover walked us through the House and Senate calendar webpages during this week's InSession Live. You can watch the comprehensive tutorial here. In addition, here are a few key takeaways:

• The "calendar", in this context, means "list"
• The "order of consideration" tells you what is coming next
• "f" means fiscal note
• "#" means local fiscal note
• "c" means companion bill
• "A" lists any amendments
• "1st reading" is the bill was introduced
• "2nd reading" is the bill as eligible for amendments (most common for floor activity)
• "3rd reading" is final passage
• "S" means substitute (amended from its original version)

There is much more helpful information in this presentation. I encourage you to watch this weekend (almost as good as Super Bowl commercials) as floor activity continues through next Tuesday. This tutorial will be very helpful for navigating a detailed website. Let us know if you have more questions and we'll address them in a future InSession or InSession Live.

The Platform Revision Window will open March 11th and close April 8th. During this time, school boards can propose revisions to WSSDA’s advocacy platform. Find some helpful tips below. 

PROPOSAL PREPARATION 

☐ Consider the issues within the school board’s purview needing legislative advocacy. 

☐ Review WSSDA’s (225) member-adopted positions to see if your board’s interests are already represented. 

☐ Before crafting a new position to propose, determine if your board can amend an existing WSSDA position instead. 

☐ Reach out to your Director Area representative on the Legislative or Resolutions Committee if you have questions about how the committee will process your board’s submission and possibly help fine-tune your proposal. 

☐ Schedule one or more board meetings to discuss and vote on your board’s proposal(s) prior to the deadline. Your board’s approval is required for all proposal submissions. 

☐ Consider sharing your board’s proposal with other boards to also approve and submit. 

PROPOSAL CONTENT 

☐ Do not include references to the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) or Revised Code of Washington (RCW) because they are regularly subject to change, which could invalidate the position. 

☐ If proposing a position, note that permanent positions begin with “WSSDA believes…” and legislative positions begin with “WSSDA will support or initiate legislation that…” 

☐ If you cite an acronym, please be sure it is completely spelled out the first time it is used in the proposal so others will understand it. 

☐ Build your proposal language in a Word document to check for spelling, grammar, and word count. Be concise. 

☐ Provide any data, statutory references, workgroup reports, or other resources to help in building a complete rationale statement. 

NOTE 

☐ Be prepared to provide the board meeting date of when the proposal was approved. 

For more information about how to engage in the platform revision process, contact strategicadvocacy@wssda.org.

We'll head back to the hearing rooms on Valentine's Day <3, following the February 13th house of origin cutoff. The following bills will be up for public comment in the opposite chamber and must be passed out of committee by February 21st in order to progress.

Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) - SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 2/14 @ 10:30am

EHB 1714 - Allowing school districts to apply for financial literacy education professional development grants. (Monitoring)

E2SHB 1332 - Supporting public school instruction in tribal sovereignty and federally recognized Indian tribes. (Monitoring)

HB 1146 - Notifying high school students and their families about available dual credit programs and any available financial assistance. (Support/Monitoring)

ESHB 1277 - Improving the consistency and quality of the implementation of the fundamental course of study for paraeducators. (Monitoring)

HB 2110 - Reorganizing statutory requirements governing high school graduation. (Monitoring)

Education (House) - HHR A and Virtual JLOB - 2/14 @ 10:30am

ESB 5462 - Promoting inclusive learning standards and instructional materials in public schools. (Concerns)

SB 5647 - Providing temporary employees necessary information about school safety policies and procedures. (Neutral)

SB 5883 - Concerning the burden of proof for special education due process hearings. (Concerns/High)

SJM 8007 - Requesting Congress to fully fund 40 percent of the costs of IDEA. (Support)

Education (House) - HHR A and Virtual JLOB - 2/15 @ 8:00am

SSB 5648 - Including state-tribal education compact schools and charter schools as entities able to receive waivers from the state board of education. (Neutral)

ESB 5790 - Concerning bleeding control equipment in schools. (REVISED FOR ENGROSSED: Concerning medical equipment in schools. (Neutral)

SSB 5804 - Concerning opioid overdose reversal medication in public schools. (Neutral)

E2SSB 5670 - Permitting 10th grade students to participate in running start in online settings. (REVISED FOR ENGROSSED: Providing summer running start for rising juniors.) (Support)

Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) - SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 2/15 @ 1:30pm

2ESHB 1377 - Posting of approved courses and providers of continuing education. (Neutral)

SHB 2335 - Concerning state-tribal education compacts. (Monitoring)

SHB 1044 - Providing capital financial assistance to small school districts with demonstrated funding challenges. (Support/High)

SHB 2381 - Increasing eligibility for economy and efficiency flexible school calendar waivers. (Support/Monitoring)

ESHB 1608 - Expanding access to anaphylaxis medications in schools. (Monitoring)

Ways and Mean (Senate) - SHR 3 and Virtual J.A.Cherbourg - 2/15 @ 4 pm

SB 5949 - Concerning the capital budget.

Additional hearings and bills may be scheduled as they pass out of their chambers of origin. Check next week's schedule on the Washington State Legislature Online website.