OLYMPIA, WA (June 7, 2016) - Washington Autism Alliance & Advocacy (WAAA) joined with other advocates for children with disabilities in filing an Amicus Brief in McCleary v State of Washington. This is the first Amicus Brief in the landmark school-funding case to focus on special education. Amicus Briefs are legal documents filed in appellate court cases by non-litigants with a strong interest in the subject matter. The briefs advise the court of relevant, additional information or arguments that the court might wish to consider. Briefs also focus the court’s attention on the implications of a potential holding on a group or jurisdiction not represented by the parties. A well-written Amicus Brief can significantly impact judicial decision-making.

“More than 125,000 students in Washington have disabilities requiring special education. For a fair chance to succeed, these children must have special instruction designed to meet their individual needs,” the advocacy coalition’s brief says, adding, “the Legislature has paid for special education as if every student needs the same funding, instead of fully funding the actual costs of properly educating children with disabilities.”

The Supreme Court has been imposing sanctions of $100,000 a day against the State until it adopts a complete plan for complying with its constitutional duty to fully finance basic education. The State has asked for the sanctions to be lifted, but an analysis by Arc of Washington found serious special education funding gaps, thus denying part of basic education accessibility. For example, new state data shows:

• The State allocates money to districts assuming 12.7 percent of each district’s student population in Kindergarten through 12^th grade are enrolled in special education. However, at least 120 school districts currently have a greater percentage of special education students than the State pays for;
• Large districts such as Seattle and Spokane spend millions of dollars more on special education than the State provides, using local tax levies to make up for the wide discrepancy between actual costs and State allocations.

Special education falls within the Legislature’s definition of “basic education,” which must provide broad educational opportunities and prepare all children to be self-supporting citizens. The Amicus Brief explains that the Legislature has overlooked the special needs of children with disabilities in planning funding reforms. In addition, the brief cites concerns that the current state budget grossly underfunds paraeducators, who provide nearly 60% of direct instruction to special education students in Washington State.

“When it comes to funding basic education, children with disabilities have the greatest needs, and their voice must be heard when determining if the ‘paramount duty’ to fully fund education has been met.  WAAA has helped provide that voice.” said Katherine George, of counsel, Harrison-Benis LLP and author of the Amicus Brief.

Two reports to the State Legislature outline the need for standards and other considerations in funding paraeducators in Washington: http://www.pesb.wa.gov/home/para-work-group.

A report citing some of the inadequacies of the current public education system to address the needs of students with disabilities was published in November 2014 by the Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds is available at http://oeo.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/SpecialEdTaskForce-Report_Nov2014.pdf. The report recommended forming a Blue Ribbon Commission to tackle the unmet needs of vulnerable students with disabilities, creating an expert body to lead a coordinated multi-agency, cross-disciplinary approach within the education system.

WAAA commends the comments of Stacy Gillett, Executive Director for Arc of King County and former Director of the Governor's Office of the Education Ombuds: “Special education funding has eluded reforms in many important ways over the years. Classrooms designed in ways that are inaccessible to students with disabilities negatively impact all students, and, moreover, lead to poor educational outcomes for students with disabilities.”

To read the full brief, click here: MotionToFileamicusbrief