Supreme Court upholds state mechanism for funding special ed

Published 8:49 am Thursday, December 9, 2010

Washington’s Supreme Court ruled today that the way the state funds special education is legit.

The majority opinion written by Justice Susan Owens concluded “the

existing funding mechanism for special education does not violate the Washington Constitution.

An alliance of school districts including Everett, Federal Way, Spokane and Bellingham brought the suit which contends the state is using an unconstitutional means of funding special education and, as a result, is underfunding the programs.

The court was very divided with four justices writing opinions.

Here’s the decision of the majority and dissent of Justice Richard Sanders.