Doling of special-needs scholarships back up in air

If you want a government voucher to send your disabled child to private school, apply for one — even if you think you might not qualify.

That's the advice of state education experts and school choice advocates Friday, after the state school board threw things back up in the air on how it will dole out Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarships.

Things could be more settled by mid-July — after application deadlines have fallen — under an emergency rule the board passed Friday.

"If parents are interested in taking advantage of this, they should (fill out an) application, understanding their children may or may not be eligible," said Nan Gray, state special education services coordinator.

Applications are available at www.schools.utah.gov, under the Special Education link.

Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarships, created through a bill sponsored by Rep. Merlynn Newbold, R-South Jordan, offers 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, received $3.9 million in state funding.

But rules on how to dole out the cash have created controversy.

Under the law, most private schools can accept scholarship students. And, students with disabilities in public schools are likely eligible for the scholarship.

But those currently in private schools would have to jump through hoops. That bothers school choice advocates — and piques the attention of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

"I know we've gone back and forth exactly on what the universe of coverage would be," Huntsman told the state school board Friday. "My intent and the intent of the Legislature . . . (was) to get as many (students) participating as possible."

Current private school students basically would have to be in a school that "specializes in serving students with disabilities" right now to get the scholarship.

The law didn't define those schools, so the state board did. Eighty percent of their students must be disabled, or they must be accredited as a special-purpose school serving students with disabilities.

But Education Excellence Utah says that rule excludes children who aren't attending Woodland Hills School and the Carmen B. Pingree School for Children With Autism in Salt Lake. Students in other private schools would have to go back to a public school or transfer to Pingree or Woodland Hills to become eligible for a scholarship.