Friends and neighbors,
We owe it to our kids to provide them with the best, most supportive education possible. We have not yet achieved that goal. It is unconscionable that we still have an arbitrary cap on how many students with disabilities that the state provides special education funding for. I am working with advocates, school districts, and my colleagues to remove this cap, fund special education, and improve how we support students.
Movement on Special Education – the biggest of the “Big 3” funding needs for schools:
House Bill 1310 increases state funding for special education including ending the unconscionable cap on how many students with disabilities that the state provides special education funding for. Last year, our school districts had to spend over $500 million of local levy funding to meet the federal and state legal requirements to provide special education to students with disabilities. This failure of the state to meet our paramount duty is the primary driver of Seattle Public Schools’ and most districts’ deficits. I worked with State Schools Superintendent Chris Reykdal over the last year to develop HB 1310 as the first effort in decades to address each of the elements of special education along with providing accountability for how districts use special ed funds.
Two Senate bills from Senators Pedersen and Wellman also utilize the work done to develop 1310. These three bills are paving the way for our state to fully fund special education. School districts will be forced to lay off thousands of educators and close schools without passing legislation to dramatically increase funding for special education. HB 1310 was heard in the Appropriations Committee on Thursday, January 30th. You can hear the compelling testimony by clicking the picture below.
https://tvw.org/video/house-appropriations-2025011546/?eventID=2025011546
Additionally, House Bill 1257 was heard in the House Education Committee on Monday, February 3rd. This legislation extends special education services to the age of 22. By doing so, we bring our state policy in line with a federal court order and help support our special education students into adulthood.
You can make your voice heard by commenting on these bills Just click through to each bill’s page, linked in the bill numbers above.
Improving our children’s reading and other education bills:
About 40% of our elementary school children are not reading at grade level. House Bill 1295 modernizes how we teach our students to read based on science rather than continuing to have approximately 40% of our kindergarten through fourth-grade students not being able to read at grade level. Kids deserve to be taught with the most up-to-date and scientifically tested strategies. This only happens when teachers receive instruction in these methods during teacher prep programs.
House Bill 1241 will ensure that parents can get information on special education services and have their student evaluated for appropriate services in a timely manner, helping parents advocate for their children.
House Bill 1528 improves outcomes and efficacy for students through a centralized and standardized platform for managing and creating Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). IEPs are a critical tool for special education students and teachers.
House Bill 1284 pays for our special education needs by eliminating a total tax exemption for corporations on their investment income. Making our tax system fairer and having large corporations pay their fair share for education is especially important in a year when our state’s general fund is facing a shortfall of billions of dollars to pay for current services, education, health care and workforce.
House Bill 1334 allows for an increase in state and local property tax growth, factoring in population change and inflation. HB 1334 removes Tim Eyman’s initiative capping property tax revenues at 1% by allowing for population growth and inflation capped at 3%. This simple change would add hundreds of millions in revenue for schools, helping our state fund education- without significantly impacting residential property taxes.
Bottom line, we have yet to fulfill our paramount duty to fully fund special education. Our schools and students are paying the price. Layoffs affect our special education students, our communities, and our economy. We must act this year to ensure that our students with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive the support they need.
Thank you,
Rep. Gerry Pollet