Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Special Needs bill passes committee

Leftenant Governor Tate Reeves issued the following press release:


SPECIAL NEEDS BILL PASSES SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
 
Bill would provide education options for students with disabilities, part of
Lt. Gov. Reeves’ agenda

JACKSON – A bill increasing education options for students with disabilities passed the Senate Education Committee today, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said. Senate Bill 2695 now heads to the Senate for a vote.  

“Too many students with disabilities are trapped in schools that are not meeting their needs,” Lt. Gov. Reeves said. “Their parents deserve the chance to customize education to their child when their school is not working for them.”

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Nancy Collins, R-Tupelo, moved forward during National School Choice Week, which highlights efforts around the country to give parents more choice in their children’s education.  
 
SB 2695 would allow parents to use state funds as a scholarship to attend a school that best addresses their child’s needs. Many Mississippi schools have struggled to meet the academic needs of students with disabilities. Currently, slightly more than 20 percent of special needs students graduate from high school.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Feel good legislation, but now we'll have people scrambling to be designated as special needs, just like people aspire to get special parking permits. Where will it stop?

Any by the way, if a public school that is connected to both the federal and state teet is not meeting the special needs of a student, there is no way a private school is going to somehow do it. This is just the hole in the dyke for vouchers.

Anonymous said...

2:11 - obviously you (1) haven't read the bill, (2) don't know a damn thing about what you are 'typing' about, and (3) like to bitch.

Big difference between 'special parking permits' and parents that have children that have special needs and cannot get a proper education for them from their 'assigned' public school. You obviously aren't there, and thanks to the grace of God, I haven't been there either. But I do have many friends that have had to deal with it - and I for one would strongly support allowing them to move their kid to another school - public, private, independent, or just making available private tutoring - if it would allow that child to get a reasonable education.

Frankly, most of the 'private schools' you degrade, are not in a position to provide the required education. A few are. Others might decide to get into providing the service if they had the demand - and yes, the voucher - to be able to support it. Tell me why that would be a bad thing for the state.

Burke said...

Right on, 2;48. Too many nattering nabobs of negativity on this blog.

Anonymous said...

Good to see that Tate is willing to work for good conservative legislation, even in an election year. Now let's see if the spineless speaker of the house will bring it out for a vote there.

Anonymous said...

4:45 - The "spineless speaker of the house" you mention brought it out last year and it was defeated (conference report) by spineless individuals from Districts with "strong-arm" Superintendents. Check your facts and pull up last year's vote on HB765.

Anonymous said...

[AND yet] "Burke" remains a loyal JJ reader!

Anonymous said...

Good to see that Tate is willing to work for good conservative legislation, even in an election year.

Really? Is Lt. Gov Triple-Chin working to get SB2690 out of committee?

Anonymous said...

Good point, 6:04. Do you think the speaker will bring it up again? These flimsy reps should be forced to decide who they work for - the superintendents or the people!

Anonymous said...

You will have fly by night private schools setting up special needs programs to collect vouchers. Any you will have parents in bad districts begging to have their kid tagged special needs so they can get out. Its the start of a voucher system. Madison County, get ready for a lot of special needs students coming up I-55.

Anonymous said...

Some public schools do a great job of educating special needs kids. Others, not so much. Hopefully this will pass and help those kids trapped in schools that aren't helping them.

Anonymous said...

When you read what is required to "mainstream" special needs students, very few private schools are going to be in the market to take these vouchers. They are strapped for resources as it is, can you imagine all of the cost involved for a tiny private school to meet the needs of one student that shows up with a voucher?



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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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