Washington superintendent outlines biennial budget seeking major boosts for special education, transportation and MSOC

Chris Reykdal, Washington’s superintendent of public instruction, used a press conference to submit OSPI’s biennial budget request to the governor and legislature and to press for increased, sustained investment in K‑12 education.

Reykdal said the request concentrates on three constitutional priorities—special education, transportation and maintenance, supplies and operating costs (MSOC)—while also pursuing additional investments in student mental health, teacher apprenticeship programs and programs that reduce barriers to college credit for high‑school students. "I need $4,000,000,000 to get schools to the national average," Reykdal said, framing the larger funding gap between Washington and peer states.

The budget asks in the transcript include a special-education increase of $300,000,000 in the first year and $700,000,000 by the second year to remove current funding caps and reduce districts’ reliance on back-end safety-net reimbursements. "Districts will still serve all students, but it means they are not guaranteed money on the front end," Reykdal said of the current cap. He added that the federal government promises 40% of special-education costs but provides "less than 20%" in practice, and that OSPI pushes the federal delegation for greater support.

Transportation was presented as the second large category, focused on "special passenger populations"—students with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness and students in foster care. Reykdal cited a first‑biennium request of $152,000,000; the transcript contains a garbled second‑biennium figure and OSPI materials posted for the press contain line‑by‑line details, he said.

On MSOC, Reykdal urged a permanent 9.5% increase to address rising insurance, utilities and other operating costs. The transcript lists $350,000,000 for the first two years and $410,000,000 in the second biennium as the MSOC proposal. Reykdal told reporters that a one‑time payment approach is not sufficient and that inflationary adjustments must be ongoing.

Beyond the three core items, Reykdal asked the legislature to fund regional mental‑health systems and to expand school social workers. The transcript gives a package of roughly $52,000,000 in the next two years and $56,000,000 in the following biennium to expand social‑worker coverage and regional supports. He also described a paraeducator‑to‑teacher apprenticeship expansion and retention investments for classified staff; the apprenticeship proposal was listed at $19,000,000 over two years and $33,000,000 in the second biennium, and large retention investments for classified staff appear in the transcript as $695,000,000 in the first two years and $1,600,000,000 in the following two years.

Reykdal highlighted efforts to remove student fee barriers for Running Start and industry‑recognized credential programs so students are not hit with $400–$600 bills when pursuing college credit or career credentials. He cited partnerships and programs—Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (more than 1,000,000 books distributed), Boys & Girls Clubs, and other community‑based organizations—as examples of programs that move graduation and postsecondary enrollment rates.

During questions, King 5 reporter Drew Nicholson asked where the $4 billion would come from. Reykdal said as a constitutional officer his duty is to submit a budget and that he will engage in revenue conversations, including capital‑gains proposals he has previously supported; he said he would back voters having a say on an income tax and that he expects the federal government to revise funding formulas. Reykdal reiterated he would not support OSPI or the executive office seeking another waiver of federal maintenance‑of‑effort requirements and asked lawmakers instead to meet the requirements through state investment.

Reykdal closed by saying OSPI has submitted its request to OFM, that the governor will release a separate proposal later, and that the legislature will take up budget work in session. "If you want to advocate, I would encourage you to get ahold of your local lawmakers," he said, urging respectful and solution‑focused engagement.

The press conference materials include a detailed, itemized spreadsheet OSPI said it has made available to the press; Reykdal invited reporters to consult those materials for line‑by‑line figures and noted some numbers in the live transcript were paraphrased or garbled in places.