Court of Appeals Hears Oral Arguments in Historic State K-12 Special Education Funding Lawsuit Brought by School Districts’ Alliance

TACOMA, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Washington State Court of Appeals today heard oral arguments in the School Districts’ Alliance for Adequate Funding of Special Education lawsuit against the State of Washington for allegedly failing to fund special education.

Underfunding of special education is a real and continuing problem for districts throughout the state. Despite recent increases in funding provided by the Legislature with support from the governor, the shortfall in funding of special education programs continues to grow.

“Providing appropriate programs to students in special education is not only a legal obligation, but a moral one as well,” said Nancy Stowell, superintendent of the Spokane School District. “We hope the Court of Appeals will recognize that the state is failing to meet its constitutional obligation to provide adequate funding to appropriately educate our most vulnerable students.”

For years, many school districts throughout the state have had to make cuts and to reallocate levy dollars that should instead be used to fund programs that serve all students.

“When the state fails to meet its funding obligation, school districts are forced to use local funds to pay for these basic programs instead of being able to use local levy dollars for enrichment programs,” said Thomas Murphy, superintendent of Federal Way School District.

In March 2007, a Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled that the state cap on the number of funded special education students is unconstitutional. But the judge did not go further in his ruling on the special education funding issue.

The alliance of 12 school districts from throughout the state joined forces in the historic lawsuit against the State of Washington for allegedly failing to fully fund special education programs on a consistent basis. More than 70 other school districts across the state support the School Districts’ Alliance. All together, the school districts supporting this lawsuit serve more than 62 percent of Washington students receiving special education services.

The Washington State Constitution states: “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.” State courts have ruled that special education programs are required and must be included as part of the state’s system of basic education.

Despite the law and the court rulings, the School Districts’ Alliance alleges that the state still fails to live up to its obligations, forcing school districts to use local levy money and to make other cuts to pay for special education programs.

About the School Districts’ Alliance

In 2004, the School Districts’ Alliance filed a lawsuit against the State of Washington for its alleged consistent failure to fully fund special education programs. The members of the Alliance are Bellingham, Bethel, Burlington-Edison, Everett, Federal Way, Issaquah, Lake Washington, Mercer Island, Northshore, Puyallup, Riverside and Spokane School Districts.

More than 70 school districts have joined the Friend of the Court Brief filed by the Tacoma School District in support of the Alliance. These school districts are located across the state. They include Vancouver and Seattle school districts as well as Moses Lake and Yakima school districts. All together the Alliance and Amicus School Districts serve more than 62 percent of the students in this state receiving special education services.