SB 5311 — Concerning special education funding formula.

S-0844.1Z-0179.1 SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5311 State of Washington 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session By Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Wellman, Braun, Dhingra, Hunt, Kuderer, Mullet, Nguyen, Nobles, Pedersen, Torres, and C.

by request of Office of Financial Management)Management READRead FIRSTfirst TIMEtime 01/27/23.01/12/23.

Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

and amending RCW 28A.150.39028A.150.390. and 28A.150.392.

1 SSBSB 5311 (i) In the 2023-24 school year, 1.175;

(b)(i) Subject to the limitation in (b)(ii) of this subsection (2), a district's annual average enrollment of resident students who are eligible for and receiving special education, excluding students ages three and four and those five year olds not yet enrolled in kindergarten, multiplied by the district's base allocation per full- time equivalent student, multiplied by the ((specialspecial education cost multiplier rate of:

(I) 1.0075 for))for followingstudents multipliers:eligible for and receiving special education and reported to be in the general education setting for eighty percent or more of the school day;

(A)or For(II) 0.995 for students eligible for and receiving special education and reported to be in the general education setting for ((eighty))less 80than eighty percent or more of the school day((;day.

or (II) 0.995 for)):

(I) In the 2023-24 school year, 1.0742;

(II) In the 2024-25 school year, 1.1408;

(III) In the 2025-26 school year, 1.2074;

(IV) Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, 1.2740;

(B) For students eligible for and receiving special education and reported to be in the general education setting for less than ((eighty)) 80 percent of the school day:

(I) In the 2023-24 school year, 1.0283;

(II) In the 2024-25 school year, 1.0617;

(III) In the 2025-26 school year, 1.0950;

(IV) Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, 1.1283.

(a) "Base allocation" means the total state allocation to all schools in the district generated by the distribution formula under RCW 28A.150.260 (4)(a), (5), (6), and (8) and the allocation under p.RCW 28A.150.415, to be divided by the district's full-time equivalent enrollment.

2 SSB 5311 RCW 28A.150.415, to be divided by the district's full-time equivalent enrollment.

(c) "Enrollment percent" means the district's resident annual average enrollment of students who are eligible for and receiving special education, excluding students ages three and four and those fivep. year olds not yet enrolled in kindergarten and students enrolled in institutional education programs, as a percent of the district's annual average full-time equivalent basic education enrollment.

Sec.2 SB 5311 five year olds not yet enrolled in kindergarten and students enrolled in institutional education programs, as a percent of the district's annual average full-time equivalent basic education enrollment.

2.

RCW 28A.150.392 and 2019 c 387 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) To the extent necessary, funds shall be made available for safety net awards for districts with demonstrated needs for special education funding beyond the amounts provided through the special education funding formula under RCW 28A.150.390.

(b) If the federal safety net awards based on the federal eligibility threshold exceed the federal appropriation in any fiscal year, then the superintendent shall expend all available federal discretionary funds necessary to meet this need.

(2) Safety net funds shall be awarded by the state safety net oversight committee subject to the following conditions and limitations:

(a) The committee shall award additional funds for districts that can convincingly demonstrate that all legitimate expenditures for special education exceed all available revenues from state funding formulas.

(b) In the determination of need, the committee shall consider additional available revenues from federal sources.

(c) Differences in program costs attributable to district philosophy((, service delivery choice,)) or accounting practices are not a legitimate basis for safety net awards.

(d) In the determination of need, the committee shall require that districts demonstrate that they are maximizing their eligibility for all state revenues related to services for students eligible for p.

3 SSB 5311 special education and all federal revenues from federal impact aid, medicaid, and the individuals with disabilities education act-Part B and appropriate special projects.

Awards associated with (e) and (f) of this subsection shall not exceed the total of a district's specific determination of need.

(e) The committee shall then consider the extraordinary high cost needs of one or more individual students eligible for and receiving special education.

Differences in costs attributable to district philosophy((, service delivery choice,)) or accounting practices are not a legitimate basis for safety net awards.

(f) Using criteria developed by the committee, the committee shall then consider extraordinary costs associated with communities that draw a larger number of families with children in need of special education services, which may include consideration of proximity to group homes, military bases, and regional hospitals.

Safety net awards under this subsection (2)(f) shall be adjusted to reflect amounts awarded under (e) of this subsection.

(g) The committee shall then consider the extraordinary high cost needs of one or more individual students eligible for and receiving special education served in residential schools ((as defined in RCW 28A.190.020)), programs for juveniles under the department of corrections, and programs for juveniles operated by city and county jails to the extent they are providing a secondary program of education.

(h) The maximum allowable indirect cost for calculating safety net eligibility may not exceed the federal restricted indirect cost rate for the district plus one percent.

(i) Safety net awards shall be adjusted based on the percent of potential medicaid eligible students billed as calculated by the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with chapter 318, Laws of 1999.