UPDATE and Candidate Information from Stop Special Needs Vouchers, August 4

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Stop Special Needs Vouchers

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Aug 4, 2014, 9:31:12 AM8/4/14
to J Juhnke
Greetings from Stop Special Needs Vouchers -- please forward this message widely!

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Candidate Survey on Special Needs Vouchers -- Where Do YOUR Candidates Stand?

Nobody else was asking, so Stop Special Needs Vouchers sent a survey question to Wisconsin candidates in advance of the August 12 primary:

Do you support the creation of a statewide special needs voucher program in Wisconsin, as proposed in Wisconsin’s past two legislative sessions? Why, or why not?

We're pleased to announce that the results are in!  Candidate responses, along with past votes and co-sponsorships and statements on special needs vouchers, are now available online at http://www.stopspecialneedsvouchers.org/candidates/

Did your candidates respond?  How have they voted, what have they said?  Be sure to look up your own candidates, and spread the word widely.

And then be sure to VOTE on August 12!

The press release regarding the results can be found at http://www.thewheelerreport.com/wheeler_docs/files/0804stopspecialneedsvouchers.pdf
(Note that Stop Special Needs Vouchers is not formally endorsing candidates as we provide this information.)

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Candidate Statements in Opposition to Special Needs Vouchers

From Assembly Candidate Mary Arnold, challenging Rep. John Jagler (co-author of past special needs voucher proposals) in Assemby District 37:

I agree with the Stop Special Needs Vouchers grassroots group’s opposition to the creation of a statewide special needs voucher program in Wisconsin, as proposed by Assemblyman John Jagler who is my opponent in my campaign for the 37th Assembly District seat. Such a proposal would neither serve the best interest of special needs students nor those of Wisconsin public school districts.  

This bill is often framed as offering families a choice, but not all choices are good ones. As I understand it, this proposal would subtract funding from public schools and give it to unaccountable private schools which are not required to provide the same level of services to special needs students as their public school counterparts are.

I am opposed to any expansion of private unaccountable unproven voucher programs in Wisconsin which so far, after 20 years in the Milwaukee area, have not performed any better than public schools. Why we are continuing to go down the road of privatizing public schools is beyond me.

This is a bad bill and I will not support it.

From Assembly Candidate Andy Mitchell, challenging Rep. Robin Vos (voucher supporter and co-sponsor of past special needs voucher proposals) in Assembly District 63:

I happen to have a little background on this.  I’m a high school special education teacher in public schools, married to a former special education teacher with a daughter that was in special education classes when she was in public schools.

The short answer?  No, vouchers for kids with special needs won’t work and can’t work.  Why?   The status of those with special  needs can change in the blink of an eye.  A degenerative eye condition can take a student from needing large print to putting text on an electronic format.  A student can go from eating with assistance to a feeding tube in a short time frame.  Teaching tactics may have to be changed from period to period.  Public schools are most likely to have access to the resources and expertise to make those changes happen quickly.

The current voucher system does not have much accountability in place for any students.  I don’t have any strong feelings that children with special education needs will be any different.  I’m skeptical that a for-profit school will be willing or able to absorb those costs as needs change.

Many more statements can be found at http://www.stopspecialneedsvouchers.org/candidates/

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New Website for Stop Special Needs Vouchers Wisconsin!

Change your bookmarks and spread the news -- Stop Special Needs Vouchers has a new website:


This new address now hosts our blog, our stories, why we oppose special needs vouchers, news links and action alerts, in addition to our new page on candidate positions.

Please let us know of any suggestions you have for how to improve our new web presence!

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Special Education Vouchers in the News

Bad news from Indiana, where they added special needs vouchers to their "choice" programs in 2013: 

94 teaching cuts blamed on enrollment drop (July 23)
"Zimmerman said the majority of the paraprofessionals assisted special education teachers in the classroom."

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Meanwhile, here in Wisconsin: Per retiring Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center), “'In a private school, it’s possible to get rid of students you don’t want,” he said. “Down the road, it’s pretty clear what you’re going to see is the public schools are going to be for ‘those kids’ — the kids nobody wants, the kids with the most needs.”

Lawmakers sound alarm on school finance (July 23)

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From New Orleans, Louisiana: an interview with parent and advocate Karran Harper Royal on the charterization/voucherization of NOLA's public schools. Note especially the section called Impact on Students with Special Needs: "Children with disabilities are treated as liabilities. These charter schools further segregate children based on ability level—more so than any traditional school district ever did."

What Happens When a City's Public Schools Vanish? (July 22)
In North Carolina, a long-time pastor is asking good questions about voucher schools, including: "Will any of these small religious academies have the resources to accommodate mentally or physically challenged students – the same ones who are welcomed with open arms at our public schools every morning?"


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For complete current coverage of stories as they appear, "like" our Facebook page at 
https://www.facebook.com/StopSpecialNeedsVouchers

For an introduction to Stop Special Needs Vouchers, visit our new website at:
http://www.stopspecialneedsvouchers.org/about/

For a list of past SSNV press coverage, visit our In the News page at
http://www.stopspecialneedsvouchers.org/in-the-news/

 Stop Special Needs Vouchers is on Twitter:  @StopSNV

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stopspecialneedsvouchers@gmail.com



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