Coalition of 13 Washington state school districts asks court to throw out the state's system of financing special education

A coalition of 13 school districts in the state of Washington has asked a state court to throw out the state's system of financing special education, saying more than 120,000 students are being shortchanged by Olympia. The School Districts' Alliance (SDA) filed the suit two years ago after talks with the legislature failed to produce adequate progress, says Spokane Superintendent Brian Benzel. The challenge has been supported by 72 other districts, collectively serving 62 percent of the state's children in special education. According to SDA’s opening statement to the court, the state is at least $130 million short of meeting the bare minimum. Districts end up filling the gap with local property taxes, shortchanging other students and violating the principle that the state constitution requires the state to finance an "ample" basic education for all, said SDA attorney John Bjorkman. Assistant Attorney General Bill Clark defended the current setup, saying the state and local districts together fully meet the needs. The current two-year state budget provides $1.38 billion in state and federal funding for special education, about 10% of the K-12 budget. Although Governor Chris Gregoire has declined to comment on the suit, she says her education-study group, Washington Learns, wants to improve special education, particularly in the pre-kindergarten period. "We need to do a whole lot better in the early years," she says. "If we did a good job in those early years, we would identify [potential problems] earlier and we would take steps that could bring about dramatic improvement." Gov. Gregoire believes the issue is not just about money but quality. She says she will seek money for state schools Superintendent Terry Bergeson to scour all 296 districts and the rest of the country to find "best practices" for special education.