IS STATE SPONSORED SCHOOL CHOICE DETRIMENTAL TO DISABLED STUDENTS

There is an ongoing debate concerning the value of school choice by which governmental vouchers are provided to parents to pay tuition costs at private schools. Advocates argue that vouchers afford parents the right to choose schools outside of the public-school arena and provide lower income students the opportunity to access a better education. Opponents counter that the voucher system diverts funding away from public schools to the detriment of their students. This may be true, but at least one study found that the competitive model of voucher funded private schools actually increased the performance of public schools in the same region.[1]

Be that as it may, what should a parent of a disabled child know about voucher-funded private schools? The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) just completed a study of 27 private school choice programs in 15 states, several of which served disabled children. In addition, 17 families of disabled children attending such schools were interviewed for the study.

The Individuals with Disabilities Act requires public schools to provide speech therapy, tutoring and specialized education plans to disabled students. The Act does not apply to private schools. The Study determined that half of the private schools surveyed by the GAO provided little or no information regarding the diminution of special needs services on their respective websites. Only nine of the twenty-seven school choice programs required schools to test their students and report the results. Ten of the programs did not require participating private schools to conduct background checks of school employees and only eight were obligated to comply with financial audits.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Kimberly M. Richey, argued that the Study’s conclusions imply that the paucity of information transmitted to parents seeking to enroll their disabled children in voucher-funded private schools affects the choices made by parents, but she pointed out that a number of families interviewed for the GOA report expressed satisfaction with the private schools attended by their disabled children which, according to Ms. Richey, belies the conclusion that a lack of information affects the choices made by parents.

Based on the Study, the GAO recommended that Congress enact legislation requiring voucher-funded private schools to notify parents/guardians about changes in federal special education rights when a disabled child is moved from public to private schools.

[1] When Schools Compete. The effects of Vouchers on Florida Public School Achievement. The Manhattan Institute (2003).