Disabilities law under fire

Want one of the state's premiere private school vouchers for special-needs kids?

If your child has a disability and is in a public school, you're probably good to go on a Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship.

But if she's in private school specializing in students with disabilities, you — and the very people behind the law — probably will have to jump through hoops.

And if she's one of 150 or so special needs students in the Catholic School system, for example, you probably can kiss the state aid good-bye, unless you're prepared to transfer schools.

That's the way the State Office of Education — with guidance from the Utah Attorney General's Office — interprets the law, which it's supposed to put into practice.

"Eligible private school standards are in the law," said Carol Lear, attorney and government and legislative relations coordinator at the State Office of Education. "We didn't make that stuff up."

But those who lobbied for the law, and the lawmaker who carried it, say the Legislature had a broader audience in mind. They may seek changes in the state school board's official interpretation — or attempt to revise the law next year.

"We will work . . . with (the bill's sponsor) and the other interested private schools and the state office to come up with a solution," said Royce Van Tassell, spokesman for Education Excellence Utah.

Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarships, sponsored by Rep. Merlynn Newbold, R-South Jordan, offers government vouchers to parents sending children with disabilities to private schools. The bill, named for a boy attending the Carmen B. Pingree School for Children With Autism, aims to help parents choose the school that's best for their kids.

The law, created in March, offers $1.4 million for the current school year, plus $2.5 million for future scholarships, Newbold said. Scholarships could be in the neighborhood of $5,500, depending on the severity of the student's disability.

The law introduces school vouchers to Utah, and attempts to lay out how it would work. Basically, parents receiving vouchers would have a wide open field of schools to choose from, Lear said. Participating schools don't have to specialize in students with disabilities; just prove they are financially sound and follow other rules aimed at protecting consumers and accountability for public money.