ACTION ALERT and update from Stop Special Needs Vouchers, June 4

[Stop Special Needs Vouchers]

Greetings from Stop Special Needs Vouchers -- please forward this message widely!

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ACTION ALERT -- Don't Let Special Needs Voucher Proponents Amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)!

Stop Special Needs Vouchers Wisconsin has issued a statement opposing S.1909/H.R.4773, the so-called Creating Hope and Opportunity for Individuals and Communities through Education (CHOICE) Act.

 

Stop Special Needs Vouchers Wisconsin Opposes Federal Special Needs Voucher Funding (6/4/2014)

The CHOICE Act is the first legislative attempt to support special needs vouchers on the federal level.  The bill does several things regarding special needs vouchers, all of which we oppose:

1)  Provides federal start-up money for new states to create special needs voucher programs (like the proposals we've been successfully fighting in Wisconsin).

2)  Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to allow federal IDEA funds to flow into private schools in existing voucher programs, that are explicitly excused from following the IDEA!  The amendment also permits such private schools to discriminate against students on the basis of disability.

ACTION ALERT:

Please read the statement, and then contact Senator Baldwin, Senator Johnson, and your Congressional Representative and urge them to oppose S.1909/H.R.4773.  Let them know that you oppose special needs vouchers and that IDEA funds must carry IDEA rights and protections!

Sen. Tammy Baldwin: (202) 224-5653, http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/contact

Sen. Ron Johnson: (202) 224-5323, http://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

House of Representatives contact lookup: http://whoismyrepresentative.com/

Thank you, and please stay tuned!

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Fulfilling the Promise: Stop Special Needs Vouchers Marched in Milwaukee May 17

Stop Special Needs Vouchers families from Milwaukee, Madison, Glendale, Whitefish Bay and Racine marched in Milwaukee on May 17 with Schools and Communities United, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision -- separate education is NOT equal education, whether segregated by race or disability!

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For more information on Schools and Communities United, visit http://www.schoolsandcommunitiesunited.org/

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Special Education Vouchers in the News

Good news from Florida: there are moves to sue the state regarding education funding, and the McKay special needs vouchers are part of the suit! "[T]he lawsuit's complaint says those programs do not require that students take the same courses or standardized tests as youngsters in public school, nor do they require the private school teachers -- even those that work with disabled kids -- to be well educated."

Lawsuit challenging Florida school funding seeks to broaden, cites vouchers, charters, pre-K as evidence of state failures (May 30)
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/blogs/school-zone/os-lawsuit-florida-school-funding-vouchers,0,5304034.post

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Bad news from Florida (as expected): Gov. Scott has signed budget legislation that adds "$18.4 million to provide vouchers for children with disabilities through Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts" to Florida's existing graft-riddled McKay special needs voucher program.

Scott Signs Record Budget, Spares Most Projects (June 2)
http://spacecoastdaily.com/2014/06/scott-signs-record-budget-spares-most-projects/

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Two sides of the school privatization coin: private voucher schools, which have no requirement to acccept and educate our students, and charter schools which claim public-school status but aren't accepting and educating our students either! The charter situation for students with disabilities has sparked a stern warning from the U.S. Dept. of Education.

Feds Warn Charters On Special Education (May 15)
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/05/15/feds-warn-charters-special/19368/

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A scathing first-hand look at the charter school situation for students with disabilities in Arizona, by the mother of a student who has Down syndrome. This prevalent situation is part of the context for the stern warning to charters from the U.S. DOE (above)

The New Segregation: School Choice in AZ Takes New Meaning If Your Child Has a Disability. (May 15)
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2014-05-15/news/charter-schools-children-with-disabilities/full/

 

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