Transcript E-Chalkboard

Lindsey Nicole Henry
Scholarship for Students
with Disabilities Program
An Introduction to the Bill

HB3393Nelson.flv
Voucher Program Arguments
Proponents
Opponents
Low
Take
income students receive
more educational choice
Challenge public schools to
improve through competition
Better education due to absence
of bureaucracy
Give parents more influence over
child’s education
dollars away from public
schools
Lack of accountability could lead
to a misuse of funds
Limits low income students
educational choice
Lower the quality of education by
removing the most informed
parents and students thus
increasing segregation in schools
along socioeconomic lines
Introduction: Take a Stand!!!

Do you support a voucher
program to help pay for private
schools for children with
disabilities?
 Vote with your feet!!! – Strongly
Agree, Simply Agree, Strongly
Disagree, Simply Disagree.
Introduction: Rethink Position!!!


Would you support the Lindsey
Nicole Henry Scholarships for
Students with Disabilities Program
Act if it would raise your Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) scores by
eliminating the IEP subgroup?
Vote with your feet!!! – Strongly
Agree, Simply Agree, Strongly
Disagree, Simply Disagree.
Introduction – Ethical
Questions
 Potential ethical dilemmas will
surface for the school
administrator with the
passage of HB 3393.
 Ethic of Care - Who are the
silenced voices?
History of Vouchers
Each
state currently pays a pre-decided amount per
student to the public school each student attends.
Currently in Oklahoma, parents choosing an option
other than the public school in their district may select
Home Schooling
Private Schooling
Transfer
Vouchers
Vouchers allow parents of disabled children to select a
private school from an accredited list for their child to
attend. The voucher allows the pre-decided amount per
student from the state to be paid to a private school.
1872
French Government
Recommended
Vouchers
1955
U.S. Economist
Milton Friedmen
Recommended
Vouchers
1956
Virginia Legislature
Passed
“tuition grants”
1960
Virginia Legislature
Passed
“scholarships”
1960’s
Presidents
Lyndon Johnson & Richard Nixon
Supported vouchers
1971
Nixon’s Panel on Non-Public
Education Of the Commission of
School Finance Proposed
Parochiaid
1971
Supreme Court Ruled
Lemon -v- Kurtzman
A three prong test for state money to go to
private schools
1) The purpose is secular.
2) Its main effect is to neither advance nor
inhibit religion.
3) It does not excessively entangle the state
with religion.
1983
1985
1986
The Reagan
administration tried to
get vouchers passed
through Congress.
1988
14 states pass
school choice laws
1990
1991
1992
President Bush tried to
get political support for
Vouchers.
Former President Clinton
Supported
school
choice
Former President
George W. Bush
Supported School Choice & Vouchers
 Believed the money should follow the kid
 Believed all institutions that received money
should be held accountable.

President
Barack Obama
Supports
School Choice
Against Vouchers
Lindsey Nicole Henry
Scholarship for Students
with Disabilities Program Act
HB 3393
The Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship
for Students with Disabilities Program
is established to provide a scholarship
to a private school of choice for
students with an IEP.
The Program will begin Aug. 26, 2010.

The scholarship will be equal to
the local and state revenue for
the school district or the tuition at
the private school, whichever is
less

Approx. $7,683.00 per child
Requirements of
Program Participation

Student must have a current IEP.

Student must have been enrolled
in an Oklahoma public school the
previous year.

The parent must notify the school
district 60 days in advance.

The parent agrees to endorse the
payment check each quarter.

The parent agrees to participate in
school as required

The student agrees to attend
school and abide by code of
conduct.
What is Required of Schools?

Schools who intend to participate
must notify the SDE by July 1st.
Schools must have…





Have been open at least one year
Meet accreditation guidelines
Demonstrate fiscal soundness
Comply with antidiscrimination
provisions
Abide by health & safety laws
Participating schools must…
Be academically accountable
to parents
 Follow rules set forth by the
SDE

Participating schools must…

“Employ or contract with teachers who
hold baccalaureate or higher degrees, or
have at least three years of teaching
experience in public or private schools, or
have special skills, knowledge, or
expertise that qualifies them to provide
instruction in subjects taught.”
Who Has Gone
Before Oklahoma?
Wisconsin
Milwaukee Parental Choice
Program 1985.
 2006 – Enrollment cap at
22,500 (Lips, 2007).

Florida

John M. McKay Scholarships for
Students with Disabilities.
 Enacted for the 2000 – 2001
school year. “Student
participation in the McKay
Scholarship Program has
continued to grow.” (Lips, 2007)
Feeling the Florida Heat?
Student Participation in the McKay Scholarship Program
25000
Student Enrollment
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
00-'01
01-'02
02-'03
03-'04
04-'05
05-'06
06-'07
07-'08
08-'09
Year
http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/Information/McKay/files/Fast_Facts_McKay.pdf
Georgia

Georgia Special Needs
Scholarship Act passed in
2007. Senate bill 10 was
approved with a vote of 91 to
84. (Lips, 2007)
Georgia



4,100 students were projected to receive
scholarships in 2007.
There is no data, or accountability as to
how many are receiving scholarships
now.
Georgia Council of Administrators of
Special Education (GCASE) strongly
opposed Senate Bill 10.
http://www.g-case.org/pdf_docs/GCASEPosition-SB10.pdf
Ohio

Special Education
Scholarship Program 2005.
http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/Education/SchoolChoiceVouchers/tabid/12942/Default.aspx
Utah

Carson Smith Special Needs
Scholarship Program 2005.

Parent Choice in Education
Act 2007.
http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/Education/SchoolChoiceVouchers/tabid/12942/Default.aspx
Is Current Law Adequate?




Forest Grove School Dist. v. T. A. - 08305 (2009)
School Districts win (62.5%) of private
placement cases
McKay Scholarship for Students – 6.7%
"Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for
Children with Disabilities" - No Cap
Will Costs Rise?


The voucher is for $7,500 per year
According to Edmond Public Schools Chief Financial
Officer David Fraser, in 2007-08 the district spent $17.7
million for the direct support of special education, which
was 15.4 percent of the total budget. This was $6,587
per child for 2,687 children requiring mild to severe
special educational needs.
During the same time the cost to educate the regular
school population was $5,764 per pupil.
http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x519248155/Specialneeds-student-scholarships-under-review July 2009
Will Enrollments Rise?

When state’s shift away from
paying for each incidence of
disability to a “census”
approach, the growth of
special education slows
(Buck, Green, 2010)
Private Special
Education Placements
2003-04
Oklahoma ranks 20th
with .12 percent of Total
Enrollment
Will Sufficient Services Be
Provided?


Florida’s McKay 30.2% of voucher participants said
they received all services required under federal law
from their public school (Greene, Forester, 2003)
A large survey that “almost 90% of McKay
respondents…were satisfied or very satisfied with the
school their child attends, whereas only 71.4% of public
school respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with
the school their child attends.” (Weidner & Herrington,
2006)
Will Some Students Be Left
Behind?


As the number of private schools
increased that accepted McKay funding
increased the standardized test scores of
disabled students who remained in public
school significantly increased.
Virtually all disabled students in public
schools take the state mandated test.
Are Private Schools
Accountable?

National Education Association Statement:
“Vouchers students are not included in state
assessments, so taxpayers have no way of
knowing how the voucher funds have been
spend, and how students have fared.”
NEA Resolution A-24. Voucher Plans and
Tuition Tax Credits.
Questions and Concerns
Regarding Special Education
Vouchers
References
Buck, S., & Greene, J. P. (2010, Winter). School choice campaign:
The case for special education vouchers. Education Next, 10(1).
Retrieved from http://educationnext.org/the-case-for-specialeducation-vouchers/
Bush, G. (Director) (2003, July 1). Education Reform & Parental
Options. Education Reform. Lecture conducted from Kipp
Academy, Washington, D.C..
Finn, C.E., Rotherham, A.J., & Hokanson, C.R.(2001). Rethinking
special education for a new century. Thomas B. Fordham
Foundation and Progressive Policy Institute. Download available at
http://www.edexcellence.net/issues/results.cfm?withall=rethinking+
special+education&search_btn.x=0&search_btn.y=0
Greene, J. P., & Winters, M. A. (2007, Spring). Debunking a
special education myth. Education Next, 7(2). Retrieved from
http://educationnext.org/debunking-a-special-education-myth/
References
Lick, D. (2007, April 25). Education Notebook: Georgia lawmakers
approve vouchers for students with disabilities. Retrieved June 23,
2010 from http://georgiastate.edu
Molnar, A. (n.d.). EPSL | Education Policy Studies Laboratory - Arizona
State University. EPSL | Education Policy Studies Laboratory - Arizona
State University. Retrieved June 24, 2010, from http://epsl.asu.edu
Obama, B. (Director) (2008, August 1). Obama at the National Urban
League. Presidental Speech. Lecture conducted from Urban League,
Orlando .
Turnbull, H.R., Stowe, M.J., & Huerta, N.E. (2007). Free
appropriate public education: The law and children with
disabilities. Denver, CO: Love Publishing
References
Weidner, V. R., & Herrington, C. D. (2006, January). Are Parents Informed
Consumers: Evidence From the Florida McKay Scholarship Program .
Peabody Journal of Education, 81(1), 27 - 56 .
doi:10.1207/S15327930pje8101_3
Wright P.W.D., & Wright, P.D. (2007). Special education law (2nd
ed.). Hartfield, VA: Harbor House Law Press.