This year's Legislative Session is almost over.
Bills are passing out of their houses and are moving out for the Governor to sign.
The last hurdle is the State Budget which is continuing through it's process.
Bills (Almost) Across the Finish Line
1795 Reducing Restraint and Isolation of students in public schools
5969 Reducing duplication in High School & Beyond Plans and Transitional IEP's
2557 Providing parental access to special education evaluation reports five days before IEP meetings
Budget Roller-Coaster
The Good
There will be NO changes to eligibility for Developmental Disabilities Community Services waivers, and there are no cuts to the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers program. Yay!!!
The Bad, and the Very Ugly
House and Senate budgets have passed out of their house of origin. Included in these budgets are the following - and they are concerning.
Elimination of Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy for Adults on Medicaid. This includes ALL adults on Medicaid.
A big reduction in DDCS funding has been added to both the House and Senate budgets that will cut funds for Individual Employment, Community Inclusion, and Community Respite. It will also reduce the number of Transition Students being able to get Basic+ waivers when they graduate, and will potential eliminate all Info and Ed funding for programs like Parent Coalition and Parent to Parent. This will reduce services, create even more waitlists, and cut waiver slots available for new clients.
UGH!
NOW is the time to call your legislators and let them know how this cut will effect your loved ones.
The current budget comparison chart is on the Arc of WA website.
https://docs.google.com/
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