Schools are dedicated to disabled

While no rational person would disagree with Jay Evensen's contention that "Disabled children deserve best education" (Feb. 1), some might want to know more of the facts surrounding the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarships bill (HB115, sponsored by Reps. Morgan Philpot and Merlynn Newbold) before drawing the same conclusions as did Mr. Evensen.

Mr. Evensen did get a couple of things right. He correctly characterized the bill as a voucher plan and correctly indicated that it has been modeled after a program adopted in Florida.

What he failed to mention, however, is that Florida's McKay scholarship program has been a financial nightmare for taxpayers. Authorities there learned too late that millions of dollars, representing 77 percent of the scholarship grants, went to private schools that provided no special-education services.

It is not yet clear whether the sponsors of HB115 have adequately addressed those problems in their bill. While the private schools serving special-needs students under this proposal would be required to disclose to the parents the nature of the services that would be provided, these schools would not have to meet any of the credentialing requirements or legal safeguards required of public schools under state and federal special-education law.

No one disputes the quality of the services being provided to children with autism at the Carmen Pingree School. What Florida discovered, however, was that when you artificially create a market for new private schools by providing a taxpayer-funded financial incentive, control over quality is difficult at best.

More to the point, however, is the question of whether public taxpayers should be required to help fund private schools that provide services to children with special needs. No one seems to dispute that our public schools do a good job providing services to 97 percent of Utah's children, especially considering that Utah spends less per pupil than any other state.

If there is a concern about the special-education services being inadequate, perhaps the Legislature should look at ways to increase the funding of those programs. However, even if the federal government were to live up to its commitment to fund special education at 40 percent (it currently provides only 18 percent of the needed funds) and the state were to make more of a financial effort, there would more than likely be parents who would want more for their child and could afford more. That is where private schools have filled a need and will continue to do so.