Special education costs to be repaid

Huntington Beach’s three public school districts will be the recipients of settlement funds from a lawsuit claiming state-legislated standards for special education, which are much more rigorous than national standards, haven’t been adequately funded.

The suit, filed by the San Diego Unified School District, Butte County Office of Education and Joaquin County Office of Education, sought to receive retroactive and future funding for programs enacted due to the state’s Hughes Bill, which details how special education students may be disciplined.

The bill requires that special education students be given an assessment when they display serious behavioral problems; the assessment is used to develop an intervention plan. To perform the assessment, and then develop and supervise the plan, staff must have training in the area of positive behavior intervention, leading to increased training costs or the need for a behavioral specialist.

The state agreed to increase its yearly special education budget by $65 million, and to reimburse state school districts by $510 million for past legal and administrative expenses since the program went into effect in 1994.

Each school district will receive about $11 per student per day starting in the 2009-10 school year, based on 2007-08 average daily attendance, and nearly $15 per student per day in reimbursements will be given for six years beginning in the 2011-12 school year. The exact amount each district will receive remains unknown.

The funds can only be used for special education, so they won’t affect the districts’ budget crises.

The money will be released after a high majority of districts vote to waive their right to pursue further litigation regarding the Hughes Bill, expected to take place by the end of February.

CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.