Hidden Costs of Special Ed Vouchers

Dana Goldstein recently published an article in the New York Times concerning special education students receiving vouchers to attend private schools. The article indicated a number of states where this was a great concern including Florida, Georgia, Colorado, and Tennessee. The main concern in the article was that of parents of students in special education being misled into accepting vouchers but giving up rights under IDEA in doing so. The article indicates that students may be giving up rights like the following: receiving a free education, being taught by a state-certified teacher, receiving services offered in public school, and the right to appeal disciplinary decisions. The parents mentioned in the article believed that they needed to be made more fully aware of the students' rights prior to accepting the vouchers. We have a scholarship program in South Carolina to assist special education students with attending private schools. The public school system is still responsible for testing these students if the parent desires and for providing certain services. However, there are definitely services that most private schools cannot provide to the same extent that a public school can. However, parents should be responsible for determining which educational situation will best serve their child. For many, a private school is a better fit for addressing their student's needs. This is especially true of Christian parents who desire a Christian education for their child.

Read the article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/us/school-vouchers-disability.html?_r=0



References:

Goldstein, D. (2017, April 11). Special ed school vouchers may come with hidden costs. Retrieved April 13, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/us/school-vouchers-disability.html?_r=0