State, Schools Near Accord on Cost of Special Education

California school districts and the state appear to be on the verge of settling a two-decade squabble over the cost of special-education services.

Under terms of a settlement still being hammered out, the state would agree to pay schools about $520 million, according to individuals familiar with the negotiations.

The agreement would also call for the state to commit itself to spending $100 million a year from its general tax fund to cover some of the districts’ costs of educating students with learning and physical disabilities.

Districts estimate that, since 1980, they have spent $1.1 billion for certain special-education services required by the state. Those include smaller caseloads for speech therapists and additional school days for special-education students.

The state has contended that budget appropriations covered the costs and that it’s the federal government that has fallen short in its support of special ed.

If the parties agree to the settlement, Los Angeles County would be among the chief beneficiaries, receiving about $125 million, sources said. About half of that would be earmarked for Los Angeles Unified School District.

Long Beach Unified School District, which estimates its shortfall over the last decade at $100 million, said it also would seek a big piece of the pie.

“Because it’s been so long already, we can’t count on these funds until we get them,” said Chris Eftychiou, a spokesman for the Long Beach district.

The dispute has been the subject of tense negotiations for many years. School districts have said for some time that they would be open to considering an amount far below their estimated costs. However, the state’s previous offers had been deemed unreasonably low.

In June, after an earlier round of talks collapsed, the Commission on State Mandates voted to begin reimbursing schools for their estimated costs. The commission is an obscure but powerful board charged with determining when the state has failed to pay for services it required of local jurisdictions.

Soon after, state Controller Kathleen Connell, a member of that panel who has supported the push for a settlement, asked school districts to submit claims.

However, concerns that Gov. Gray Davis’ administration would sue to block the payments sparked renewed interest in negotiations. Both sides indicated that they hope the latest effort will succeed, although they cautioned that Davis has yet to see the settlement draft.

Owen Waters, a negotiator for the California School Boards Assn., said it was “a little premature” to be celebrating but added: “This is as hopeful as we’ve ever been.”

Sandy Harrison, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance, said: “It’s been a very long process, and we’re hopeful that we’re in the final stages of it, but there is not a final agreement at this point.”