This is Part III of my attempt to catch folks up on the pluses and minuses of school voucher programs, especially as they impact minorities and kids with disabilities. As I've mentioned, there's a new school voucher program here in Colorado (in Douglas County). The school district, obviously, thinks this is a good idea.
Again, the ACLU does not agree. See earlier discussion here.
Plus, as discussed in this WSJ article about the voucher program, this looks like the classic case of vouchers "skimming off the top" - since the vouchers won't actually cover the entire cost of the typical private school, low income families really can't take advantage of them. In essence, it looks like the vouches are subsidies to middle and upper class families, who can now leave public schools in favor of something they think is better.
Now, some states have actively tried to address concerns with school voucher programs by offering additional assistance to low-income families, and ancillary supports (like transportation). Some have even enacted scholarship programs (another way to describe school vouchers) for kids with disabilities - Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, Utah, and Florida, just to name a few. (The 12 year old Florida McKay Scholarship, a leader in this movement, will be the subject of another post). This is a great development (check out this interesting piece in the NY Times.)
But, not so in this case here in Colorado!
The Douglas County program looks awfully suspect to me in the "discrimination against students with disabilities" department. The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and the Elderly, Colorado's federal mandated Protection and Advocacy organization, noted this as well and filed a complaint last week alleging discrimination.
The focus of the Legal's Centers suit was that the voucher program discriminated against kids with disabilities - and this seems so flagrantly against IDEA. Here's the gist of the legal argument (you can read the whole complaint at the Legal Center's website, the pdf about half-way down the page):
1. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a civil rights statute that requires that each child who has an impairment receive the same opportunities as non-disabled children.
2. The Douglas County voucher program essentially turns 19 private schools into public schools, because they become "Partner Schools" receiving public monies for each student admitted.
3. This gets murky. Private schools are typically NOT required to provide special ed services to kids on IEPs because they typically DON'T receive federal or state funding for education. However, in the case of this voucher program, Douglas County is (a) calling these schools "Partner Schools" and (b) giving them state educational monies. So if it looks like a public school, and acts like a public school, is it a public school? This is the crux of the argument.
4. The Legal Center argues that they are public schools, and as such, they have the obligation under 504 and the ADA to provide the same educational opportunities to all students, regardless of disability. And this, it's not disputed, is NOT the perspective of these private schools. Check out some of these statements from the school websites/admissions policies:
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School: “Students with disabilities that cannot be accommodated in our school are not enrolled. Older part of the building is not ADA accessible.”
Woodlands Academy: “Serious disabilities are not best served at Woodlands, as we do not have the facilities for these students.”
Valor Christian High School: “We do not have a Special Education program or Resource program at Valor as our admissions standards preclude having a population with significant need.”
Denver Christian Schools: “As is true of any private school, Denver Christian Schools is not required to develop or follow an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) or Individual Educational Plan (IEP).”
4. Assuming you agree that these private schools are, in essence, public schools participating in the voucher program, then they are subject to federal laws like ADA and IDEA. And you can see, these schools are in flagrant violation of 504, the ADA, and the IDEA. Kids with disabilities are not being offered the same educational opportunities as typical kids.
The remedy sought by the Legal Center? Stop the implementation of the program until these issues can be investigated by the DOJ, and, ensure that any school participating in the voucher program gives equal access to SWD by enrolling them and providing services for them in compliance with the requirements of the ADA.
I'll keep you posted.
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