UPDATE: Special Needs Vouchers STOPPED in Wisconsin in 2014!

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Stop Special Needs Vouchers

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Mar 27, 2014, 7:08:13 AM3/27/14
to J Juhnke
Greetings from Stop Special Needs Vouchers -- please forward this message widely!

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Special Needs Vouchers: STOPPED!

Special needs vouchers have "died in committee" in Wisconsin's 2014 legislative session.

We did it -- we STOPPED special needs vouchers in Wisconsin in 2014!

Thank you to everyone who signed the petition (over 1100 signers statewide), forwarded an action alert, contacted a legislator, wore a t-shirt, attended an event, wrote a letter, traveled and testified about the problems and pitfalls of the special needs vouchers.

As you know, both the Assembly and Senate Education Committees held public hearings in February on the special needs voucher bill.

The next step would have been a committee vote.  That vote never happened.  The Assembly concluded their 2014 session last week, and the Senate will finish for 2014 on April 1.

There was very little mention of the demise of the special needs vouchers in the news, but the Journal Sentinel had this article on March 22:

What school bills did, and didn't, pass in legislative session?
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/what-school-bills-did-and-didnt-pass-in-legislative-session-b99230419z1-251730001.html

"What Failed?
...Two other priorities of conservative Republicans in the Assembly also didn't gain traction: special-needs vouchers and a statewide expansion of independent charter schools, which operate free of district oversight."

THANK YOU!

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Looking Forward

While we celebrate our success in stopping special needs vouchers in the 2014 legislative session, the unfortunate fact is that the vouchers are backed by well-funded national special interests, and we do not expect that this is the last we have heard of the special needs vouchers in Wisconsin.

See, for example, page 10 of the American Federation for Children's 2012 "Election Impact Report," in which they highlight the $2,392,000 they spent in Wisconsin's 2012 elections and the fact that "legislators in the state that is home to the nation’s oldest publicly-funded private school choice program are now looking to create a statewide special needs scholarship program."

Stop Special Needs Vouchers continues to seek opportunities to let people know: special needs vouchers are wrong for our students and wrong for Wisconsin.

We will staff exhibit tables at the following upcoming events:

Circles of Life Conference, April 24-25, Madison Marriott West

Diane Ravitch, May 1, Monona Terrace (Madison)

Ozaukee County Resource Fair, May 7, Cedarburg High School

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If you are aware of other opportunities where a Stop Special Needs Vouchers exhibit table would be welcome, please send a message to stopspecialn...@gmail.com.

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Special Education Funding and Vouchers in the News

A teddy-bear in a green Stop Special Needs Vouchers shirt showed up on a St. Patrick's Day Parade float for the Oshkosh Inclusive Park project. Voices from the crowd cried out, "Yay, support our schools, stop special needs vouchers!"

Inline image 2

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Although proposals for increasing special education funding did not pass in the Wisconsin legislature this year, there is a growing bi-partisan movement to fully-fund special education at the federal level, to the originally-promised 40%!

Lawmakers Press For Full Funding Of Special Education
Disability Scoop, 7 March 2014
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/03/07/lawmakers-fund-sped/19172/

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Letter to the editor, Wisconsin State Journal -- "Opponents of voucher programs have been led most vocally not by politicians but by parents. Parents, particularly of special needs students, have spoken forcefully to demand accountability and equity in the voucher program."

Private school vouchers no bargain for taxpayers -- Heather DuBois Bourenane
Wisconsin State Journal, 21 March 2014
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/opinion/mailbag/private-school-vouchers-no-bargain-for-taxpayers---/article_073f3aa5-467e-5fb1-afc0-ef0e140cf91e.html

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In Arizona, a parent writes: "I have visited other schools to learn more about the educational marketplace. The principal at one private school said, 'We can’t take your child.' Another private school administrator said he might if we provided a full-time aide on top of private tuition (though my child does not need or have one at his public school). A privately owned and operated charter put my child and a friend’s child with special needs on a wait list."

Angie Donelson: School vouchers are eroding resources for children with special needs
Arizona Daily Star, 12 March 2014
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/angie-donelson-school-vouchers-are-eroding-resources-for-children-with/article_e4892364-7949-5391-8748-e2701e0ff5dd.html

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A column from North Carolina: "Most of the private school programs that accept vouchers are among the LEAST innovative schools one could imagine. Many are centered around religious indoctrination, often are unaccredited and have few licensed teachers, and don’t know how to handle children with special needs, whether behaviorally challenged, disabled, or especially gifted. These children are typically dumped back in the public school system, increasing the trend towards de facto re-segregation."

Josh Ravitch: Vouchers undermine public education system
Chapel Hill News, 14 March 2014
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2014/03/14/3699016/josh-ravitch-vouchers-undermine.html

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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 Who We Are blogpost at
http://stopspecialneedsvouchers.blogspot.com/p/about-us.html

For a list of past SSNV press coverage, visit our Voucher Information Links page at
http://stopspecialneedsvouchers.blogspot.com/p/voucher-information-links.html

 Stop Special Needs Vouchers is on Twitter:  @StopSNV

To subscribe to these mailings, or to unsubscribe, send e-mail to
stopspecialneedsvouchers@gmail.com



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