Natomas Unified School District plans to sue state, county over special education funds

The Natomas Unified School District’s board of trustees voted unanimously last Wednesday to authorize legal action against several state and county agencies to ensure special education funds stay in the district.

The district says the special education funds generated by its residents are needed to support its own students and not be distributed throughout Sacramento County.

In a statement Monday, the district said trustees authorized litigation against multiple agencies: the California Department of Education, Sacramento County Office of Education, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools and Sacramento County Special Education Local Plan (SELPA).

Currently, SELPA collects and distributes state and federal special education funds among the 16 school districts in the county.

The county Office of Education on Tuesday called the trustees’ actions “puzzling and premature.”

“NUSD has not completed the legally required process for becoming a single-district SELPA, nor have any financial or other decisions been made,” the education office said in a statement issued jointly with other districts that are county SELPA members: Arcohe Union, Center Joint Unified, Elverta Joint, Galt Joint Union High, River Delta Unified, Robla and Twin Rivers Unified.

Natomas Unified has agreed by vote to have its funds allocated through SELPA every year for the past eight years, and has never dissented from any decision, according to the county education office.

The district argues the distribution is done inequitably. In its statement Monday, the district said it receives $3.2 million less per year than what the district generates, making its special education department the least-funded in Sacramento County.

According to the county education office, there have been no efforts to prevent Natomas Unified from creating its own SELPA.

“Everyone worked hard to accommodate requests made by Natomas because they were a growing district,” Sacramento County schools Superintendent David Gordon said to The Sacramento Bee. “To say (funds) were distributed inequitably by SELPA is not true.”

The district said it filed paperwork with the state to manage its own funds, and will meet with officials in July.

But now the district says it’s authorized to go to court to compel the state and county to allow them to do so. The district has not filed suit yet.

“The heart of our argument is that the money should be spent on Natomas students and not siphoned off to other districts,” said district spokesman Jim Sanders.

Individually managed SELPA programs are not uncommon. There are four districts – Elk Grove Unified, Sacramento City Unified, San Juan Unified and Folsom Cordova Unified – already managing their own funds through their own SELPA. Twin Rivers Unified is in the process of taking over management.

Natomas Unified has about 15,500 students. About 1,900 students have an Individualized Education Program or are in special education.

“As special eduction costs rise, this gap gets wider and the problem gets worse,” Sanders said.

While SELPA votes on how to distribute funding among the county’s 16 school districts, the California Department of Education grants a district the waiver it needs to form its own SELPA.

The district spends $13 million in general funds on special education. It says that without the additional funds, the district may need to reduce class sizes and cut programs like advanced placement and gifted and talented education classes.

“It’s time to fix a system that’s broken,” said Natomas Unified school board member Susan Heredia. “Dollars generated in Natomas should be spent in Natomas – our taxpayers and students deserve that. Millions of dollars have been lost to student programs and services in years past, and even larger sums could be lost in the future. “

The district estimates it has lost out on $22 million since 2004 as a result of pooling their funding. The county Office of Education said this is a misrepresentation of how the superintendents worked together to fairly allocate funds.

Editor’s note: This story was updated April 30 to include information from a statement by the Sacramento County Office of Education.

This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 2:40 AM.