Voucher bill hits snag

A bill that would provide a government voucher for students with disabilities to attend private schools hit a dead end Monday following an emotional, two-hour committee hearing.

The House Education Committee narrowly voted to move on to other business without taking action on HB115, "Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarships." The vote followed a tie, and therefore unsuccessful, vote to table the bill.

The measure would cost the state an estimated $1.2 million in state money, plus federal funds, as a result of disabled kids leaving public schools.

"No one knows how difficult it is to deal with students with disabilities more than a parent, and next to a parent, probably a teacher," said an emotional Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, who is a special educator. "Looking at the fiscal note on this bill has — and I see the needs of so many students — to take from the many to give to the few. I can't justify that at this point."

Bill co-sponsor Rep. Merlynn Newbold, R-South Jordan, a friend of Carson Smith's family, plans to talk with fellow committee members to answer questions or possibly tweak the bill to win their support.

If support is there, the bill will return to the committee's agenda, said its chairwoman, Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem.

Smith's parents were disappointed, but hopeful.

"They're afraid of the doors it will open" to future vouchers or tuition tax credits for all children, said Frank Smith, father of the 5-year-old student at the Carmen B. Pingree School for Children with Autism. "This is not a voucher — it's a scholarship for special needs kids."

"I just don't know why they don't just try it," Cheryl Smith said. "We're not finished fighting for it."

HB115, sponsored by Newbold and Rep. Morgan Philpot, R-Sandy, would give a renewable, three-year scholarship to parents of children with a disability, from autism to traumatic brain injury. It would be worth 1.73 to 2.5 times the weighted pupil unit, depending on the severity of the disability. The WPU is valued at $2,150.

Some parents say the money, though not much of a dent in tuition at some schools — the Pingree school charges $21,000 a year for its intensive program — is still needed. Some, for example, have taken out second mortgages on their homes to get the instruction their children can't get in public schools.