Students with disabilities

AN ACT Relating to improving access to and provision of a free 1
appropriate public education for students with disabilities; amending 2
RCW 28A.225.330, 28A.155.010, 28A.155.020, 28A.155.040, 28A.155.090, 3
and 28A.155.100; adding new sections to chapter 28A.155 RCW; adding 4
new sections to chapter 43.131 RCW; creating a new section; providing 5
effective dates; and providing an expiration date. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. With all correspondence and materials 8
related to evaluation for and provision of special education 9
services, a school district shall provide the parent of a student who 10
is or may be eligible for special education services with the 11
following:12
(1) A description of the services available through the office of 13
the education ombuds and the contact information for the office of 14
the education ombuds; 15
(2) Information about accessing special education guidance and 16
other resources for parents available through the office of the 17
superintendent of public instruction; and 18
(3) A notification that parents have a right to information about 19
their child's education in a language they understand, including the 20
right to translated documents under section 7 of this act.21
H-0178.3
HOUSE BILL 1241
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Pollet, Couture, Callan, Farivar, Simmons, Penner,
Kloba, Nance, Davis, and Salahuddin
Prefiled 01/10/25. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Education.
p. 1 HB 1241
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) If the parent of a student makes a 1
request for the student to be evaluated for a disability or for 2
eligibility for special education services, a school district shall 3
provide the parent with a document describing the referral request 4
and initial special education evaluation processes, including 5
relevant deadlines and parental consent requirements. The document 6
must be based on the template created as required under section 3 of 7
this act.8
(2) Within 22 calendar days after receipt of a referral request 9
for special education services, a school district shall: (a) Decide 10
whether to conduct an initial evaluation to determine whether the 11
student is eligible for special education services; and (b) notify 12
the parent of the referred student of the district's decision, using 13
multiple communication channels. 14
(3) If a school district has decided to evaluate the student for 15
special education services, the school district shall comply with the 16
following procedures and deadlines for obtaining parental consent to 17
evaluate, for evaluating the student, and for the eligibility 18
determination: 19
(a) At the same time as it makes the notification under 20
subsection (2) of this section, the school district shall provide the 21
student's parent with a document that informs the parent about the 22
evaluation activities it plans to conduct, and that includes 23
instructions for how and when to provide parental consent to 24
evaluate. The document must be based on the template created as 25
required under section 3 of this act. 26
(b) Except as provided in rule, the school district shall, within 27
60 calendar days of receiving a parent's consent to evaluate the 28
student, conduct an evaluation and determine whether the student is 29
eligible for special education services. In accordance with Part B of 30
the federal individuals with disabilities education act, Title 20 31
U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq., the office of the superintendent of public 32
instruction may establish in rule research-based deadlines that may 33
be longer or shorter than 60 calendar days for specific types of 34
evaluations or categories of disability. For example, the rules may 35
allow a school district to exceed the 60 calendar day deadline during 36
summer breaks when conducting a quality evaluation warrants 37
additional time. 38
(4) When enrolling a student who has attended school in another 39
school district and who was referred for an initial evaluation for 40
p. 2 HB 1241
special education services but who does not have an individualized 1
education program, the receiving school district shall continue the 2
process of determining the student's eligibility for special 3
education services where the transferring school district stopped.4
(5)(a)(i) For each student referred for a special education 5
evaluation, a school district shall record the number of calendar 6
days between the following events, as applicable: (A) The date of the 7
parent or staff referral request and the date the initial evaluation 8
is conducted; (B) the date the initial evaluation is conducted and 9
the date the individualized education program is completed; and (C) 10
the date the individualized education program is completed and the 11
start date of service delivery. School districts shall submit the 12
previous school year's data, identified by disability category, at 13
the time and in the manner required by the office of the 14
superintendent of public instruction. 15
(ii) When it submits the data to the office of the superintendent 16
of public instruction, the school district shall post on its website 17
a report of the average, median, shortest, and longest number of 18
calendar days between the events described in (a)(i) of this 19
subsection (5). 20
(b)(i) The office of the superintendent of public instruction 21
shall annually share deidentified data submitted as required by 22
(a)(i) of this subsection (5) with the office of the education 23
ombuds. 24
(ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 25
make deidentified data submitted as required by (a)(i) of this 26
subsection (5) available to the public upon request.27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The office of the superintendent of 28
public instruction shall collaborate with the office of the education 29
ombuds to create a template for school districts to use to meet the 30
requirements in section 2 (1) and (3) of this act related to 31
providing to parents: (a) Information about the initial special 32
education evaluation process; and (b) instructions for how and when 33
to provide parental consent to evaluate.34
(2) The template must be translated for the limited English 35
proficient parent groups as described in section 7 (1) of this act. 36
The template and its translations must be made publicly available on 37
the website of the office of the superintendent of public 38
instruction. 39
p. 3 HB 1241
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) While the use of a multitiered system 1
of supports may not be used to delay or deny an evaluation to 2
determine whether a student is eligible for special education 3
services, school districts are encouraged to implement research-based 4
strategies and interventions using the framework of the Washington 5
integrated student supports protocol, established under RCW 6
28A.300.139, through a multitiered system of supports to identify and 7
support students who may have a specific learning disability.8
(2)(a) School districts using a process based on a student's 9
response to scientific, research-based interventions to determine if 10
a student has a specific learning disability, in accordance with 11
Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1414 of the federal individuals with 12
disabilities education act, may offer a written intervention plan to 13
the parents of students who are not meeting age or grade level 14
standards. 15
(b) An intervention plan may describe the research-based 16
strategies and interventions to be provided to the student, set 17
measurable student performance goals, and establish a reasonable 18
timeline for meeting with the parent to determine whether the student 19
has made adequate progress towards the goals or whether more 20
intensive strategies and interventions must be provided to the 21
student. 22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) For each student whose individualized 23
education program includes provision of a related or supplementary 24
special education service that is quantifiable, such as hours, 25
minutes, or units, a school district shall notify the parents of the 26
student that a quarterly quantitative service report is available 27
upon request.28
(2)(a) A quarterly quantitative service report must indicate the 29
quantity of each service delivered to the student during the prior 30
quarter and the method in which the service was delivered. 31
Identification of the delivery method includes whether the services 32
were delivered in-person or virtually, whether the services were 33
delivered one-on-one or in a group, and whether the services were 34
delivered at the student's school or at another location.35
(b) When the quantity of a service delivered to the student in 36
the prior quarter is less than the quarterly quantity of that service 37
required under the student's individualized education program, the 38
p. 4 HB 1241
report must include a plan to provide the student with additional 1
services in the following quarter. 2
(3) The quarterly quantitative service report must be made 3
available to a parent in writing within 10 business days of the 4
parent's request. However, the school district is not required to 5
provide a parent with the report more than once per quarter.6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1)(a) School districts shall take all 7
necessary actions to ensure that parents understand individualized 8
education program team meetings and related proceedings. This may 9
include arranging for an interpreter or providing the option to 10
record audio.11
(b) Before convening individualized education program team 12
meetings, a school district shall notify parents with limited English 13
proficiency or disabilities requiring communication assistance or 14
accommodations, such as hearing or speech disabilities, that, under 15
34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.322 (2006) and (a) of this subsection, the 16
district is required to take all necessary actions to ensure the 17
parent understands the meeting proceedings. 18
(2) School district staff, including related services staff, may 19
participate in an individualized education program team meeting if 20
they have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, 21
including knowledge of resources or services available to the 22
student. 23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) School districts shall provide written 24
translation of documents for each limited English proficient parent 25
group that constitutes at least one percent of the school's total 26
parent population or 50 persons, whichever is less.27
(2) School districts may use oral interpreter services, written 28
translation services, and other language access services available 29
for contract through the department of enterprise services to comply 30
with Title II of the Americans with disabilities act of 1990, 42 31
U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq., and Title IV of the civil rights act of 32
1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000d, et seq. 33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) As needed to inform the activities 34
described in subsection (2) of this section, the office of the 35
superintendent of public instruction may collect and analyze 36
information about the implementation of the processes for predue 37
p. 5 HB 1241
process hearing resolution and mediation that have been adopted in 1
rule by the office of the superintendent of public instruction. At a 2
minimum, the information must include: Reasons why disputes are not 3
resolved through these processes; and incentives that could be 4
provided or process improvements that could be made to ensure that 5
the parties comply with required elements of the processes and engage 6
in the processes in good faith. 7
(2) Based on the information collected and analyzed under 8
subsection (1) of this section, the office of the superintendent of 9
public instruction may develop, or revise, and publish guidance on 10
best practices for resolving disputes through the predue process 11
hearing resolution process and the mediation process.12
(3) As used in this section, "due process hearing" means a due 13
process hearing held in accordance with the federal individuals with 14
disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) Subject to the availability of amounts 16
appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of the 17
superintendent of public instruction shall distribute up to 18
$2,000,000 to educational service districts each year for the purpose 19
of making school psychologists and other providers with expertise in 20
each category of disability under Part B of the federal individuals 21
with disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq., 22
available to conduct initial special education evaluations and 23
reevaluations for special education.24
(2) Each educational service district shall determine its 25
regional need for special education evaluators as described in 26
subsection (1) of this section. At the time and in the manner 27
required by the office of the superintendent of public instruction, 28
each educational service district shall submit a proposal describing 29
its regional need and requesting funding to address that need.30
(3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 31
prioritize proposals submitted as required under subsection (2) of 32
this section and may fund all or part of each proposal, subject to 33
availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose.34
(4) This section expires June 30, 2035. 35
Sec. 10. RCW 28A.225.330 and 2022 c 78 s 3 are each amended to 36
read as follows: 37
p. 6 HB 1241
(1) When enrolling a student who has attended school in another 1
school district, the school enrolling the student may request the 2
parent and the student to briefly indicate in writing whether or not 3
the student has: 4
(a) Any history of placement in special educational programs;5
(b) Any past, current, or pending disciplinary action;6
(c) Any history of violent behavior, or behavior listed in RCW 7
13.04.155; 8
(d) Any unpaid fines or fees imposed by other schools; and9
(e) Any health conditions affecting the student's educational 10
needs. 11
(2) The school enrolling the student shall request the student's 12
permanent record including records of disciplinary action, history of 13
violent behavior or behavior listed in RCW 13.04.155, attendance, 14
immunization records, ((and)) academic performance from the school 15
the student previously attended , and special education referral 16
requests, documentation of whether a special education eligibility 17
decision is pending and the deadline for making the decision, special 18
education evaluation decisions, special education evaluations, and 19
individualized education programs. 20
(3) Upon request, school districts shall furnish a set of 21
unofficial educational records to a parent or guardian of a student 22
who is transferring out of state and who meets the definition of a 23
child of a military family in transition under Article II of RCW 24
28A.705.010. School districts may charge the parent or guardian the 25
actual cost of providing the copies of the records.26
(4) If information is requested under subsection (2) of this 27
section, the information shall be transmitted within two school days 28
after receiving the request and the records shall be sent as soon as 29
possible. The records of a student who meets the definition of a 30
child of a military family in transition under Article II of RCW 31
28A.705.010 shall be sent within 10 days after receiving the request. 32
Any school district or district employee who releases the information 33
in compliance with this section is immune from civil liability for 34
damages unless it is shown that the school district employee acted 35
with gross negligence or in bad faith. The professional educator 36
standards board shall provide by rule for the discipline under 37
chapter 28A.410 RCW of a school principal or other chief 38
administrator of a public school building who fails to make a good 39
faith effort to assure compliance with this subsection.40
p. 7 HB 1241
(5) Any school district or district employee who releases the 1
information in compliance with federal and state law is immune from 2
civil liability for damages unless it is shown that the school 3
district or district employee acted with gross negligence or in bad 4
faith. 5
(6)(a) A school may not prevent students who are the subject of a 6
dependency proceeding pursuant to chapter 13.34 RCW from enrolling if 7
there is incomplete information as enumerated in subsection (1) of 8
this section during the 10 business days that the department of 9
children, youth, and families has to obtain that information under 10
RCW 74.13.631. 11
(b) If the student who is the subject of a dependency proceeding 12
is subject to an order in a federally recognized tribal court that is 13
the equivalent of a shelter care or dependency order pursuant to 14
chapter 13.34 RCW, or the student is eligible for benefits under the 15
federal foster care system as defined in RCW 28B.117.020, the school 16
may not prevent the student from enrolling if there is incomplete 17
information as enumerated in subsection (1) of this section during 18
the 10 business days from the date the equivalent order is entered or 19
from a date determined by the state agency responsible for 20
implementing the unaccompanied refugee minors program.21
(c) Upon enrollment of a student who is the subject of a 22
dependency proceeding, the school district must make reasonable 23
efforts to obtain and assess that child's educational history in 24
order to meet the child's unique needs within two business days.25
(7) For the purposes of this section, "students who are the 26
subject of a dependency proceeding" has the same meaning as in RCW 27
28A.150.510. 28
Sec. 11. RCW 28A.155.010 and 2007 c 115 s 1 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
It is the purpose of RCW 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.160, 31
sections 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7 of this act, 28A.160.030, and 28A.150.390 32
to ensure that all children with disabilities as defined in RCW 33
28A.155.020 shall have the opportunity for an appropriate education 34
at public expense as guaranteed to them by the Constitution of this 35
state and applicable federal laws. 36
Sec. 12. RCW 28A.155.020 and 2015 c 206 s 2 are each amended to 37
read as follows: 38
p. 8 HB 1241
There is established in the office of the superintendent of 1
public instruction an administrative section or unit for the 2
education of children with disabilities who require special 3
education. 4
Students with disabilities are those children whether enrolled in 5
school or not who through an evaluation process are determined 6
eligible for special education due to a disability.7
In accordance with part B of the federal individuals with 8
disabilities education improvement act and any other federal or state 9
laws relating to the provision of special education services, the 10
superintendent of public instruction shall require each school 11
district in the state to insure an appropriate educational 12
opportunity for all children with disabilities between the ages of 13
three and twenty-one, but when the twenty-first birthday occurs 14
during the school year, the educational program may be continued 15
until the end of that school year. The superintendent of public 16
instruction, by rule, shall establish for the purpose of excess cost 17
funding, as provided in RCW 28A.150.390, 28A.160.030, ((and)) 18
28A.155.010 through 28A.155.160, and sections 1, 2, and 4 of this 19
act, functional definitions of special education, the various types 20
of disabling conditions, and eligibility criteria for special 21
education programs for children with disabilities, including referral 22
procedures, use of positive behavior interventions, the education 23
curriculum and statewide or district -wide assessments, parent and 24
district requests for special education due process hearings, and 25
procedural safeguards. For the purposes of RCW 28A.155.010 through 26
28A.155.160 and sections 1, 2, and 4 of this act , an appropriate 27
education is defined as an education directed to the unique needs, 28
abilities, and limitations of the children with disabilities who are 29
enrolled either full time or part time in a school district. School 30
districts are strongly encouraged to provide parental training in the 31
care and education of the children and to involve parents in the 32
classroom. 33
Nothing in this section shall prohibit the establishment or 34
continuation of existing cooperative programs between school 35
districts or contracts with other agencies approved by the 36
superintendent of public instruction, which can meet the obligations 37
of school districts to provide education for children with 38
disabilities, or prohibit the continuation of needed related services 39
to school districts by the department of social and health services.40
p. 9 HB 1241
This section shall not be construed as in any way limiting the 1
powers of local school districts set forth in RCW 28A.155.070.2
Sec. 13. RCW 28A.155.040 and 2007 c 115 s 4 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
The board of directors of each school district, for the purpose 5
of compliance with the provisions of RCW 28A.150.390, 28A.160.030, 6
((and)) 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.160, and sections 1, 2, and 4 7
through 7 of this act and chapter 28A.190 RCW, shall cooperate with 8
the superintendent of public instruction and with the administrative 9
officer and shall provide an appropriate educational opportunity to 10
children with disabilities, as defined in RCW 28A.155.020, in regular 11
or special school facilities within the district or shall contract 12
for such services with other agencies as provided in RCW 28A.155.060 13
or shall participate in an interdistrict arrangement in accordance 14
with RCW 28A.335.160 and 28A.225.220 and/or 28A.225.250 and 15
28A.225.260. 16
In carrying out their responsibilities under this chapter, school 17
districts severally or jointly with the approval of the 18
superintendent of public instruction are authorized to support and/or 19
contract for residential schools and/or homes approved by the 20
department of social and health services for aid and special 21
attention to students with disabilities. 22
The cost of board and room in facilities approved by the 23
department of social and health services shall be provided by the 24
department of social and health services for those students with 25
disabilities eligible for such aid under programs of the department. 26
The cost of approved board and room shall be provided for those 27
students with disabilities not eligible under programs of the 28
department of social and health services but deemed in need of the 29
same by the superintendent of public instruction: PROVIDED, That no 30
school district shall be financially responsible for special 31
education programs for students who are attending residential schools 32
operated by the department of social and health services: PROVIDED 33
FURTHER, That the provisions of RCW 28A.150.390, 28A.160.030, and 34
28A.155.010 through 28A.155.100 shall not preclude the extension by 35
the superintendent of public instruction of special education 36
opportunities to students with disabilities in residential schools 37
operated by the department of social and health services.38
p. 10 HB 1241
Sec. 14. RCW 28A.155.090 and 2023 c 436 s 2 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
The superintendent of public instruction shall have the duty and 3
authority, through the administrative section or unit for the 4
education of children with disabilities, to: 5
(1) Assist school districts in the formation of programs to meet 6
the needs of children with disabilities; 7
(2) Develop interdistrict cooperation programs for children with 8
disabilities as authorized in RCW 28A.225.250; 9
(3) Provide, upon request, to parents or guardians of children 10
with disabilities, information as to the special education programs 11
for students with disabilities offered within the state;12
(4) Assist, upon request, the parent or guardian of any child 13
with disabilities in the placement of any child with disabilities who 14
is eligible for but not receiving special educational services for 15
children with disabilities; 16
(5) Approve school district and agency programs as being eligible 17
for special excess cost financial aid to students with disabilities;18
(6) Establish standards for authorizing, monitoring, and 19
investigating private schools approved by the state board of 20
education under RCW 28A.305.130, other private in-state entities, and 21
any out-of-state entities, that contract with school districts under 22
RCW 28A.155.060 to provide special education and related services to 23
children with disabilities. The standards must ensure that any 24
children with disabilities placed in authorized entities by school 25
districts have the same rights, protections, and access to special 26
education and related services that they would have if served by a 27
school district; 28
(7) Consistent with the provisions of RCW 28A.150.390, 29
28A.160.030, ((and)) 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.160, and part B of 30
the federal individuals with disabilities education improvement act, 31
administer administrative hearings and other procedures to ensure 32
procedural safeguards of children with disabilities; and33
(8) Promulgate such rules as are necessary to implement part B of 34
the federal individuals with disabilities education improvement act 35
or other federal law providing for special education services for 36
children with disabilities and the several provisions of RCW 37
28A.150.390, 28A.160.030, ((and)) 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.160, 38
and sections 1, 2, and 4 of this act and to ensure appropriate access 39
to and participation in the general education curriculum and 40
p. 11 HB 1241
participation in statewide assessments for all students with 1
disabilities. 2
Sec. 15. RCW 28A.155.100 and 2007 c 115 s 12 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
The superintendent of public instruction is hereby authorized and 5
directed to establish appropriate sanctions to be applied to any 6
school district of the state failing to comply with the provisions of 7
RCW 28A.150.390, 28A.160.030, ((and)) 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.060 8
((and)), 28A.155.080 through 28A.155.160, and sections 1, 2, and 4 9
through 7 of this act to be applied beginning upon the effective date 10
thereof, which sanctions shall include withholding of any portion of 11
state aid to such district until such time as compliance is assured.12
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Sections 1 through 9 of this act are each 13
added to chapter 28A.155 RCW.14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. Section 2 of this act takes effect August 15
1, 2026.16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. A new section is added to chapter 43.131 17
RCW to read as follows: 18
The educational service district special education evaluators 19
grant under section 9 of this act shall be terminated June 30, 2035, 20
as provided in section 19 of this act. 21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. A new section is added to chapter 43.131 22
RCW to read as follows: 23
The following acts or parts of acts, as now existing or hereafter 24
amended, is repealed, effective July 1, 2036. 25
RCW 28A.155.--- and 2025 c . . . s 9 (section 9 of this act).26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. If specific funding for the purposes of 27
this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not 28
provided by June 30, 2025, in the omnibus appropriations act, this 29
act is null and void.30
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