School Agencies Victorious in 20-year Battle for Special Ed Reimbursements
CSBA's Educational Legal Alliance estimates $1 billion or more owed to school agencies
WEST SACRAMENTO – The California School Boards Association's Education Legal Alliance (ELA) has announced that the Commission on State Mandates voted unanimously to adopt a formula, developed by the ELA, to reimburse local educational agencies (school districts, county offices of education and special education local plan areas) for the costs associated with developing and implementing Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIP) for designated special education students. ELA members, San Joaquin and Butte county offices of education, and the San Diego Unified School District were the claimants in the proceedings before the Commission. Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, LLP, represented ELA and the claimants. This issue of reimbursement for BIP services has been contested since 1993-94.
"Unfunded mandates have taken their toll on the state's public education system. The Commission's decision affirms the need for the state to adequately reimburse LEAs for mandates. Without question, the Commission's decision is a substantial victory for public education," explained Cindy Marks, president of CSBA. Conservative estimates place the reimbursement to LEAs at $50-$65 million per year for each of the 19 years from 1993-94 to 2011-12. Thus, the total reimbursement to school agencies would be about $1 billion if the reimbursements are fully funded by the Legislature and governor.
“The ELA victory is significant because it allows every LEA that is eligible for reimbursement to claim it without filing actual costs. If the Commission had not adopted the use of this formula, LEAs would have been forced to scour their records back nearly 20 years to identify the actual costs. Many districts would not have had the staff or resources to complete this task. As a result of this decision, all LEAs that deserve reimbursement will now be compensated. That’s the bottom line,” said Diana McDonough, an attorney with Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, LLP.
However, ELA Director and CSBA General Legal Counsel Keith Bray cautioned, “While this decision is cause for celebration, this is not a ‘fait accompli.’ Our next challenge involves securing funding to reimburse school agencies. No general fund dollars have been committed yet to support the Commission’s decision. CSBA’s Governmental Relations team will work with the governor and Legislature to do the right thing – to fully fund the reimbursements owed to school agencies.” The Commission will meet again on April 19 to adopt a statement of decision. Then, within 90 days of the Commission’s final action, school agencies will receive claiming instructions from the State Controller.
The ELA, which initiates and supports litigation on behalf of public schools, has been leading the charge for mandate reimbursement for decades. It is currently challenging the constitutionality of legislation approved in 2010 that requires districts and COEs, beginning in 2010-11, to use their special education funding to pay for BIP costs instead of the state providing additional funding for this mandate.
The ELA is composed of school districts, county offices of education and Regional Occupational Centers/Programs that voluntarily join together to pursue and defend a broad spectrum of statewide public education interests in the courts and before state agencies.