Fw: PA Residents:Plan Would Establish Special Ed Vouchers in PA

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03/18/04 13:11:00

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Plan Would Establish Special Ed Vouchers in PA

 

Plan would establish special-ed vouchers

 

Bill proposes vouchers for special-ed students

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

BY JAN MURPHY

Of The Patriot-News

 

Parents of special-needs and gifted students could send their children to

another public school or a private school on the government's dime under a

bill introduced yesterday in the state House.

The legislation sponsored by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, would establish

a voucher program specifically for these students.

 

The voucher amount would match a school district's cost to send a

special-education child to a charter school. The costs vary by district.

School boards complain that state and federal funding does not fully cover

the cost of educating special-needs children, Metcalfe said.

Under the Special Education Mandate Relief and Options Act, districts could

save " above-and-beyond costs " while giving parents more options, he said.

Opponents argue the program would produce little to no savings for districts

and present options mostly for parents of children with mild disabilities.

Several House and Senate staffers predicted the proposal would meet with no

more success than former Gov. Tom Ridge's push for a broader voucher program

which failed three times.

Metcalfe said his bill is different from Ridge's plans.

" This is a new movement ... targeting a certain population of students who

really need to have this help, " Metcalfe said at a Capitol news conference

while flanked by a half dozen pro-school choice advocates. " We're dealing

with budget situations across the country that weren't ... happening as much

at the time school vouchers were proposed in Pennsylvania. "

He noted that a similar program in Florida, the McKay Scholarship Program,

has wide parental approval and overall success. Utah and Colorado are

considering similar programs.

To qualify for a voucher, students would have to be enrolled in a public

school at least one year and be accepted by another school.

Matt Brouillette, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, one of

the groups backing the bill, said the public school requirement is necessary

to stem additional costs to the state.

But Janet Stotland of the Education Law Center in Philadelphia said parents

of private-school students would likely not hesitate to move their children

into a public school for a year in order to take advantage of the

scholarship. This would increase the financial burden on public schools, she

said.

Ted Clater, executive director of the Keystone Christian Education

Association, said Christian schools rely on tuition and money they can raise

to serve gifted and mildly disabled students. The scholarship program would

help schools to " broaden out from those milder cases so that the horizon for

more kids can be opened. "

The proposal would not force any school to accept a child if it could not

accommodate the student or didn't already provide the services or programs

the child needed, Metcalfe said. But Tim Allwein of the Pennsylvania School

Boards Association said those scenarios could result in discrimination

lawsuits.

Allwein said the proposal wouldn't save taxpayers money. Districts would

incur added transportation costs and private schools could turn to

intermediate units, which are funded by school districts, to provide

services for students.

Metcalfe's bill would not require private schools to meet the same

accountability provisions for special education students outlined in the No

Child Left Behind Act. Brouillette said the proposal sets higher

accountability standards.

" Parent choice is a much, much higher level of accountability than No Child

Left Behind will ever be or ever hope to be, " Brouillette said.

That's the appeal for the pro-choice group, Reach Alliance Executive Dennis Giorno said. " This bill goes a long way to putting parents

back in charge of their child's education, " he said.

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