March 29, 2023, is the cut off date for bills to be voted out of committees.
On Monday, March 27, 2023, Representative Gerry Pollet’s special education funding bill, HB 1436, is scheduled for executive session in the Senate.
Link to TVW’s Broadcast: Executive Session on March 27, 2023 @ 1:30PM
Committee Chair, Senator Lisa Wellman, filed an amendment that strikes all provisions except those that:
- Direct OSPI to annually review data to ensure there is not a disproportionate identification of students;
- Require OSPI to provide technical assistance to school districts experiencing issues related to disproportionality and make professional development opportunities available to promote inclusionary teaching practices.
- Require JLARC and the State Auditor to conduct a performance audit of the state’s system of providing special education.
The original text of HB 1436 immediately removed the arbitrary 13.5% special education enrollment cap, however amendments to the bill will increase the cap over time and eventually removes it as follows:
- 14 percent in the 2023-24 school year
- 14.5 percent in the 2024-25 school year
- 15 percent in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years
- Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, the funded enrollment limit is removed.
We agree with Representative Gerry Pollet and Support HB 1436!
Capping enrollment rates of students with disabilities is a civil rights violation, and the arbitrary cap should be removed immediately.
Watch Representative Pollet say it on the record in Olympia:
