Welcome
This week, I discuss a special-needs tax
credit bill that has been subject to much debate in the General Assembly and in
the media. State education leaders and special-interest groups call it an
assault on public schools. Others point out that special-needs children and
their parents are more important than the preservation of a system.
Bulletin Board
- Do you want insight into the wacky world of Washington, DC
from someone on the inside? Stephen F. Hayes, senior writer at The Weekly
Standard and Fox News contributor, will be
the guest speaker at a Headline Luncheon on May 4 at 12:00 p.m. The event will
be held at Sisters Garden on Millbrook Road in Raleigh and cost $35 per person.
To register, visit https://www.johnlocke.org/events/event.html?id=890. -
Early April marks a major milestone for college-bound high
school seniors: the end of a long college search. That task may be easier in
the future, thanks to a new web site created by the John William Pope Center for Higher Education
Policy. NC College Finder (nccollegefinder.org)
provides a wide range of information on 54 accredited four-year universities in
the state. - The North Carolina History Project
would like educators and homeschool parents to submit lesson plans suitable for
middle and high school courses in North Carolina history. Please provide links
to NC History Project encyclopedia articles and other primary and secondary source
material, if possible. Go to http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/edu_corner
for further information. - You will find wisdom, knowledge,
and purpose at our research
newsletter archive.
CommenTerry
North Carolina’s two highest public-education leaders, Superintendent June
Atkinson and Chairman Bill Harrison, recently made a joint statement about the
proposed House budget. Well, most of their commentary was about the budget.
Near the end of the piece, Atkinson and Harrison (a.k.a. Hatkinson) attacked a special-needs
tax credit bill that recently passed a House education committee. They
observed,
In addition to making it difficult
for schools to maintain the most basic levels of operation, one legislative
proposal sends a strong message that some want to encourage families of
children with disabilities to pull their children from public schools —
another way to decrease commitments to our state’s future. This
"incentivized pull-out" would offer a tax credit for students with
disabilities who move from public schools to private schools. This is just a
foot in the door to offering tax credits for all private school families, and
would not expand existing services for students with disabilities at all. In
fact, families who choose private schools for students with disabilities would
quickly learn that the legal protections their children have in public schools
are not available to them in private schools. And, students with disabilities
for whom a special private school setting is the most appropriate one already
have that option through their local public school. A total of 351 students
with disabilities already receive private school placements for this reason. It
is hard to imagine why it is a good idea to invite a group of students who most
need a stable continuum of educational services to leave the system that
provides it — unless the long-term goal is to chip away at public schools in
general.
This is a long quote, so allow me to break it down into
three arguments: 1) A special-needs
tax credit is the first step toward a full-blown voucher system, 2) private
schools cannot provide comparable legal protections and services to those of
public schools, and 3) some students already receive private school placements
through their public school, so the Republicans must want to approve a
special-needs tax credit only because they have a vendetta against public
schools.
According to the Alliance for School Choice, seven states operate a
special-needs scholarship or tax credit program, including Arizona, Florida,
Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Utah. Even states that have maintained
school-choice programs for years do not provide "tax credits for all
private school families." However, demand for special-needs scholarships
continues to grow.
When Florida’s McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities program began
in 1999, only two students received the voucher. Just three years later, over
9,000 students benefited from the program. This year, over 21,000 students in
Florida will receive a McKay Scholarship. Similarly, the Georgia Special Needs
Scholarship Program began with 900 students in 2007 and grew to over 2,500
students three years later. Harrison and Atkinson fear that thousands of North
Carolinians with special-needs children would also find that a private school
or facility is a better choice for their children.
The second argument is half fear-mongering and half speculation. While private
schools are generally not subject to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), private schools that receive federal funds must comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which
prohibits discrimination against special-needs children and requires the school
to provide accommodations to them. Private schools must comply with the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Even so, it would be incorrect to assume that federal laws are the only ways to
ensure that schools provide special-needs children the best possible education.
Parental choice gives private schools a powerful incentive to maintain a "stable
continuum of educational services."
If parents are not satisfied, they will send their child and money elsewhere.
Finally, some may be surprised to read that public schools send a small number
of special-needs students to private schools. Under 115C‑111.2 of the North Carolina
General Statutes, school districts may contract with private special-education
providers. Public school administrators do not like to talk about that
particular statute and seldom use it. It is not difficult to understand why they
do not want to let the cat out of the bag.
If special-education professionals admit that private-school placements are the
best option for 350 students, is it possible that 3,500 or 35,000 students
could also benefit? Of course, school districts do not want to entertain that
question. If they did, school districts across the state would place more than 0.2 percent of the special-needs population
currently placed in private schools.
From the family’s perspective, the issue has little to do with their support or
opposition to public schools. Unlike special-interest groups (NCAE) and the
politicians that pander to them (Democrats), parents who exercise choice do not
think of the issue in that way. Rather, they care deeply about their
special-needs child and simply want him or her to learn and develop in the best
educational environment possible. School choice mechanisms offered in those
seven states give educational opportunities to families that could not afford
them otherwise.
Random Thought
Do we really need a live-action Voltron
film? For me, I suppose the answer depends on who is cast as Princess
Allura.
Facts
and Stats
In 2010-11, the seven states that offered special-needs vouchers and tax credit
programs allocated $211 million and served over 26,000 students. The average
special-needs scholarship and tax credit was approximately $8,000.
(Source: Andrew Campanella, Malcom Glenn, and Lauren Perry, "Hope for
America’s Children: School Choice Yearbook, 2010-11," Alliance for School
Choice, 2011, http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org.)
Mailbag
I would like to invite all readers to
submit announcements, as well as their personal insights, anecdotes, concerns,
and observations about the state of education in North Carolina. I will publish
selected submissions in future editions of the newsletter. Anonymity will be
honored. For additional information or to send a submission, email Terry at [email protected].
Education Acronym of the Week
IDEA — Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act
Quote of the Week
"One of my sons was so verbally abused in public school that he became
physically sick each morning at the thought of going to school. I would present
a strong front as I sent him down the front walk with tears in his eyes, and
then fall apart with the click of the front door. The Carson Smith Scholarship
[for students with disabilities] enables my son to attend a school where he can
reach his full potential. I don’t feel I exaggerate when I say that Carson
Smith gave him back his life."
— Scotti Hanson, mother, Utah (Alliance for School Choice,
"School Choice Yearbook, 2010-11," p. 22)
Update archive.
