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Scholarship program would help special-needs children

By Stan Lee

In denouncing the bill creating the Special Needs Scholarship Program, the Lexington Herald-Leader in a recent editorial claimed that the legislation was about advancing some political agenda.

Could it really be that it is the newspaper trying to advance an agenda of some other group?

For example, without even reading the bill, Mary Ann Blankenship, Executive Director of the Kentucky Education Association, announced that the union would oppose the measure, choosing instead to defend the status quo. The status quo, however, is no longer acceptable to me.

Kentucky needs an honest debate about the education of its 110,000 special-needs students. But the discussion must be based upon facts.

First, the Herald-Leader’s editorial claimed that courts would not uphold the bill. However, our nation’s judicial system has long recognized that providing learning-disabled children with the services they need is a matter of general welfare not just of education. Kentucky courts have likewise recognized this important exception for disabled children.

“Kentucky needs an honest debate about the education of its 110,000 special-needs students.”             

Besides, special-needs children are already attending private schools at public expense … in Kentucky. According to the Kentucky Department of Education, about 2,500 public-school children with learning disabilities attended private schools at public expense in 2005.

Nearly half of these children were placed in nonpublic schools at the request of the public schools they were attending. Apparently, even some school districts understand the importance of placing a child’s educational needs above a political agenda.

Second, the editorial opined that families really would “have no meaningful choices.” This is a favorite – but mythical – argument of those opposed to more choices for learning-disabled children. The fact is, there are nonpublic schools in every corner of the state – 408 altogether – that serve learning-disabled children.

Parents of children attending Summit Academy in Louisville, which has a campus established to educate learning-disabled children, are paying as much as $13,000 a year – on top of the tax dollars they already pay to support public education – and are glad to do so. They found a school that fits their children’s unique needs.

But what about the single mother who cannot afford the cost of private-school tuition? What is she to do? With a scholarship, she could provide the same opportunity for her disabled child. Perhaps the paper could talk to one of these special-needs parents. I have heard from many of them.

Providing scholarships to special-needs students will likely result in the creation of even more schools to serve these children.

In 2000, Florida became the first state to implement a statewide scholarship program for special-needs students. The number of participating nonpublic schools increased more than sevenfold in just seven years – from 100 in 2000 to 751 in 2006. In fact today, nearly half of all Florida nonpublic schools serve learning-disabled students.

Third, the bill allows a parent to move her disabled child to another public school, “out-of-district.” This provides parents with even more choices. Yet, the Herald-Leader generally ignores this unique function of the bill.

Fourth, the paper states that school choice “is a darling of the right wing.” That’s interesting, because the popularity of school choice is at its highest levels in the inner cities of Milwaukee and Cleveland – not exactly hotbeds of right-wing activity.

Finally, the editorial states that supporters should “be pushing to improve the services and offerings in public schools” That’s exactly what this bill is designed to do – provide more choices and improve educational opportunities for our children.

What solution do the bill’s opponents offer? You guessed it: more funding.

Consider that in 1990 Kentucky spent $1.6 billion to educate 630,688 students in K-12. For the 2007-08 school year, we will spend over $4.1 billion to educate 635,000 students. Despite nearly tripled funding to educate about the same number of students, many parents still face insurmountable bureaucratic barriers to secure adequate education, training and therapy for their special-needs children.

For once, why don’t we consider a solution other than more funding? The Special Needs Scholarship Program will not cost taxpayers one additional dime. In fact, if fully implemented, it will afford us an opportunity to save tens of millions of dollars.

Don’t special needs-students deserve a new opportunity? Don’t their parents deserve hope? Don’t citizens deserve more accountability for how their tax dollars are spent on education?

– Rep. Stan Lee has served since 2000. He can be reached at (859) 252-2202 or slee@bowlesrice.com. This article originally appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader and is reprinted with the author’s permission.

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