ACTION ALERT and UPDATE from Stop Special Needs Vouchers, 24 November 2014

[Stop Special Needs Vouchers]

Greetings from Stop Special Needs Vouchers -- please forward this ACTION ALERT as widely as possible!

=====

ACTION ALERT: Tell Governor Walker that Special Needs Vouchers are STILL WRONG for our students and our state!

On November 20, Rep. John Jagler (R-Watertown) vowed publicly to bring back the failed special needs vouchers proposal, despite overwhelming opposition from families and disability organizations statewide.  The vouchers, Jagler declared, would pass "one way or another," and he announced his intention to meet with Governor Walker to further the special needs voucher agenda.  (http://tinyurl.com/ntm2g46 - Lawmaker promises to pass special needs vouchers, Racine Journal-Times, 11/20/14)

Taxpayer subsidies for unaccountable private schools are just as wrong for students with disabilities today as they were when the special needs vouchers failed to pass last spring.  Students who use vouchers in private schools give up all their rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and private voucher schools are neither required to appropriately educate all applicants nor to have special educators or therapists on staff.  Meanwhile, our neighborhood schools would lose even more critical funding, while continuing to educate Wisconsin’s students with the most challenging needs.

TAKE ACTION -- this week!  

Let Governor Walker know that special needs vouchers are still wrong for our students and wrong for Wisconsin!

E-mail: govge...@wisconsin.gov   (Send a copy to your legislators as well! To find contact info, enter your street address at http://maps.legis.wisconsin.gov/)
Phone: (608) 266-1212

Let Governor Walker know:

** Who you are (parent, student, educator, taxpayer etc)

** That you are contacting him to oppose the special needs vouchers

** Why special needs vouchers would hurt our students and our state [loss of IDEA rights for voucher students, loss of funding for public schools, more reasons at http://www.stopspecialneedsvouchers.org/about-vouchers/ ] 

** Request that he join us in rejecting these harmful vouchers!

=====

SSNV Press Release 11/21

Families Promise to Keep Speaking Out: Special Needs Vouchers are Still Bad News

Stop Special Needs Vouchers responds to Rep. Jagler's announcement:

http://www.stopspecialneedsvouchers.org/?p=531

Madison, WI – In the wake of recent headlines that “promise” the return of the failed special needs vouchers proposals in Wisconsin, families of students with special needs have some promises of their own.

“I can promise you this: families like mine are still just as opposed to these voucher schemes as we were eight months ago,” says Terri Hart-Ellis of Whitefish Bay, mom to 11-year-old Addie who has Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome. “Last winter we brought over a thousand signatures and stories from across Wisconsin to the legislature, pointing out how special needs vouchers would weaken our neighborhood schools and how voucher students lose their special education rights. Our families have spoken out time and again against these harmful proposals, and it’s time for the legislature to listen!”

Kelli Simpkins of Madison, whose 12-year-old son Mickey has epilepsy, promises to continue raising her voice as well. “We should be talking about strengthening special education funding in the public schools, and the proposals that are already on the table to make open enrollment more equitable by eliminating ‘undue financial burden’ denials for students with disabilities. Why in the world are we still re-hashing voucher proposals that would let fly-by-night schools set up in Wisconsin to take advantage of our children?”

The families of Stop Special Needs Vouchers are determined to continue to let our legislators and our communities know: special needs vouchers would be a dangerous experiment with our most vulnerable students. Every special needs voucher proposal, every time, has been wrong for our students and wrong for Wisconsin.

======

Stay Connected; and, Stay Tuned!

Special needs vouchers were all but ignored during the campaign, but now that the election is past, the intentions are out in the open.

Tell your friends, tell your relatives, tell your colleagues -- we need to push back EVEN HARDER this time against these harmful vouchers!

Once you make your call or send your e-mail to Governor Walker:

Have you "liked" our Facebook page yet?

https://www.facebook.com/StopSpecialNeedsVouchers

Have you forwarded this message?

If you got this message as a forward, please consider subscribing directly by sending an e-mail request to:

stopspecialneedsvouchers@gmail.com

===============================