The House Education Committee will address bills that will provide tuition for children with special needs at 1:00 PM. Parents of children with special needs will hold a press conference at 11:00 today on the second floor of the Capitol in the Rotunda. Here is some basic information about the bills:
Individualized Education Funds in
Mississippi
Equal Opportunity for All Students with Special Needs Act,
2014
Senate Bill 2325 (Sen. Nancy Collins)
House Bill 765 (Rep. Carolyn Crawford)
The main
things the bills accomplish:
- Give the Most Freedom to the Children Starting with the Least: A recent Clarion-Ledger series shined a light on the 23 percent graduation rate for special needs students. Our kids need better instruction and services tailored to their needs so they can earn a credential that is a starting point for future college and career success. Greater flexibility will help drive improvement.
- Create a Customized Education for Special Needs Children: establish an environment for parents to make decisions that are best for their child, from the widest possible menu of educational methods.
o
Strengthen
the Public School System:
Florida lawmakers passed a statewide choice program for special needs students
in 2001. Six percent of eligible Florida students use the program but Florida’s
special needs students in public schools have led the nation in academic gains.
Overview of Individualized Education
Funds:
·
Mississippi
has the chance to join Arizona as a pioneer in implementing an Individualized
Education Fund program that provides direct account control to parents of
students who can benefit most from educational options.
·
Mississippi’s
parents can be empowered with the ability to direct their children’s share of
education funding toward environments emphasizing academic excellence—or to fund
a combination of options.
·
Arizona
parents often break down in tears in appreciation for their similar program. A
survey of Arizona parents found a 100% satisfaction rate with the program.
·
These
scholarships can provide equality of opportunity to students the state of
Mississippi has failed for years, simply by allowing parents to direct their
child’s share of education funding in the most appropriate
way.
Education Options under SB 2325 and HB
765:
·
Educational
services from licensed or accredited practitioner or providers;
·
Tutoring from an accredited tutor;
·
Tuition
at a participating school;
·
Fees
for Advanced Placement examinations, college or university admissions, or
standardized achievement tests;
·
Tuition
at an eligible postsecondary education institution.
Student Eligibility:
Students
with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or with a section 504
accommodation may apply. Students must have attended a Mississippi public school
in the previous school year or be attending a public school in the state for the
first time.
Funding:
·
The
account will be funded at approximately $6,000 per child – far less than what
taxpayers are already paying to educate children with special
needs.
·
Unused
funds return to the state General Fund.
Oversight by the State and Accountability to
Parents:
- Parents must sign a compliance agreement for proper use of funds.
- The state will deposit funds in four quarterly payments into an Individualized Education Account at an approved financial institution.
- The Mississippi Department of Education must conduct quarterly and yearly audits of appropriate use, establish a fraud reporting system online/hotline, and forward cases of substantial misuse of funds to law enforcement agencies. The Department can also suspend parents for failure to comply with the agreement.
Kingfish notes: Here are some quick thoughts.
*School districts spend over $10,000 per special needs students. These bills will actually save money. Only in government will people see that as a threat.
*No one wants abuse and everyone is familiar with "crazy check" stories. Perhaps the legislature should look at limiting the payments to several disabilities: Autism, speech disorders, and dyslexia.
*One Senator claimed children with special needs have no protections or rights in private schools. Not true. Not true at all. That changed in 2004. See for yourself
8 comments:
7. Clarify that no parentally-placed child with a disability has an individual right to
services.
No parentally-placed private school child with a disability has an individual right to receive some or all of the special education and related services that the child would receive if enrolled in a public school.
[34 CFR 300.137] [20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(10)(A)]
There are so few good private school options for special ed students in Mississippi that, as a practical matter, very few families could actually take advantage of this to obtain better educational services for their child. A better option would be to allow a special ed student to attend any public school district of their choice and have the dollars follow them to their chosen district. That would give parents the flexibility to get into the best special ed district in their area, which in most cases will be better than whatever private school option exists.
Am I understanding the above to mean that if a parent places a child in private school (how else would he get there?) then that child does not have a right to services provided by the public school district?
Not only is that discriminatory, it flies in the face of current law. Any child who is a legal resident and of school age, regardless of where enrolled, currently has a right to services offered by the public school district.
The best example I can give is public school vocational settings. Private school students in the district can (and often do) attend vocational classes offered at the public school. Why not?
If I understand this bill (and hope I do not), it is crafted so as to penalize the parents who have opted for private schools. Don't forget that they pay the same public school taxes as anybody else.
Or for that matter, home schooled students.
You are reading it wrong 10:48. IT actually says that you don't have a right to receive in a private school the same services you would receive in a public school. Since private schools are private institutions, they can't be forced to meet the same standards as a state funded institution.
The rule makes sense. If I were running a private institution (any private institution) I would take offense to the government telling me that I am required to offer the same or similar services that are offered at similar public institutions
3:27 and 3:30 are sort of right, and so is 10:48. If a special ed student is in a private school, the private school is not required to provide all the services federal and state law would require a public school to provide. And that is ok, because the parents have chosen to use their own money to pay for that choice which they think is best for their child. However, that student is still entitled to receive certain special ed services from the public school district in which he or she resides if those services are not available in the private school in which the student is enrolled.
Example - my child is a special ed student and enrolled in private school. If the private school did not provide a special ed service that was available in the public school district in which I reside, then my child would be entitled to receive those services from the public school district if I made a demand for those services. I have never done so, because I am happy with what my private school provides. However, you can see the possibility for "double dipping" that would exist if this bill passes. You would have a child using taxpayer funds to attend a private school, and then still receiving services from the public school system if they desired.
I really don't know where this bill came from or what it is trying to achieve. Most special needs families I have talked to did not even know this bill was pending. There are so few legitimate private special ed schools that most feel this bill will not truly help many people.
Speculation among a lot of concerned parents is that this bill is a way to get special ed students out of the public school system and/or a way to let students in certain areas attend private schools with no special ed services on the public dime, i.e. "seg academies" with no special ed department, yet still demand services from the public school districts they left.
Where does it say you have to withdraw your child from the public school system to get the money? Couldn't you stay in public school for the full special ed services they provide and then use the money for supplemental tutoring, therapy, etc.?
If that's the case, then I know one group that is very excited about this - the therapists and "child developmental specialists" that have run out of opportunities to bill Medicaid, insurance, etc. for their services.
Kingfish, please keep digging on this. It seems like there could be something at issue here other than helping special ed kids.
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