Tell Washington state legislators to take an important step toward resourcing the needs of students with disabilities by fully funding Senate Bill 5311.

The Washington state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) estimates that in the 2021-2022 school year, Washington schools spent over $400 million more on special education services than they received in combined state and federal funding to provide special education services. School districts often have to use local levy funding to pay for special education services. This magnifies funding inequities by giving wealthier districts more ability to make up for inadequate state special education funding than districts with lower property wealth. This is not a sustainable or equitable approach to funding special education and must change.

SB 5311 takes an important step toward more fully resourcing Washington’s schools and creating more special education equity across the state. SB 5311 has been progressing through the 2023 Washington state legislative session and has passed all of the hurdles it has encountered up to this point, but we are entering the most critical point of the session. State leaders are trying to find agreement on how we will fund the Washington state budget for the next two years, and we must continue to let them know how important it is to provide these critical resources for students receiving special education services.

We hope you can join us in urging the legislature to better meet the needs of our students by fully funding SB 5311.

Use this form to tell members of the legislature to take an important step toward resourcing the needs of students with disabilities by fully funding Senate Bill 5311.

Learn more: Special Education Funding Cap LEVinar, Special Education Funding Issue Brief