Vouchers to be issued for special needs kids

The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act, the state's first educational voucher program, was recently signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue.

The new law grants the parents of a child with special needs in public schools access to scholarship funds in order to more directly address their child's educational needs. The vouchers can be used at any participating public or private school that offers a better environment for the child.

"If parents have no choice, there is zero incentive for public schools to improve their quality or remain accountable to the parents and taxpayers of the community," stated the bill's sponsor, Senator Eric Johnson. "We want to ensure that every disabled child, regardless of wealth and circumstances, has the opportunity to receive the very best education available. A choice to leave should not be seen as an attack on public schools but simply recognition that all children are individuals and a different school might more closely meet the needs of the student and the parents.

"At it core, this is about who gets to make the decisions about educating a child with special needs - the parents or the government," the senator continued. "Children don't belong to the board of education and they don't exist to serve the needs of the government. Instead of asking what happens to the school system if the child is allowed to leave, we asked what happens to the child is he is forced to stay. The legislature came down on the side of parents and children."

The result of similar legislation passed in Florida was that parents of students using the state's McKay Scholarships reported 93-percent satisfaction with their schools, compared to 33-percent satisfaction with public schools. Only 30 percent of Florida parents said their special needs students were receiving all of the required services, while 86 percent indicated that their McKay schools were providing all promised services.

The scholarship amount is estimated to average about $9,000 per child in Georgia. Once the program is fully operational, approximately 15,000 children are expected to take advantage of the scholarships.

The special needs student population is growing in almost every state. In Georgia, the number of students served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in public schools has experienced an 88-percent increase since 1990, one of the highest rates of increase in the country.