ALERT from Stop Special Needs Vouchers, 13 January 2015

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Stop Special Needs Vouchers

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Jan 13, 2015, 7:04:46 AM1/13/15

to J Juhnke

Public Hearing on AB1 - Wed. Jan. 14, 10am at the Capitol (Room 417N)

Stop Special Needs Vouchers will be testifying at the Capitol on Wednesday January 14, with concerns about AB1 -- a fast-tracked proposal known as the "school accountability bill."

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, "The sweeping measure would create a new board and invest it with the power to develop standards for grading all publicly funded schools and then sets penalties for those that don’t measure up." The article goes on to state, "The issue is closely linked to a separate Republican goal to expand the role of and funding for voucher schools statewide."
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/republicans-divided-over-school-accountability-measure-b99421210z1-287790121.html

The bill, which can be found online at http://tinyurl.com/qc9s9e4, is long and complex. There is a helpful overview at the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) web site:
http://www.wasbmemberservices.org/websites/advoc_gov_relations/index.php?p=1540

Stop Special Needs Vouchers testimony will be highlighting multiple disability-related concerns with the bill:

1) Given recent "promises" that have been made about the return of the failed special needs vouchers proposals (http://tinyurl.com/qdnqayn), we note that AB1 does not address our objections to special needs voucher proposals, including the fact that private voucher schools are not accountable to the Individuals with Disbilities Education Act (IDEA).

2) AB1 does not provide a consistent set of definitions for private voucher schools to report disability-related data on enrollment and achievement; public and charter schools must use the IDEA categories that are echoed in Wisconsin state law (state statute 115.76). Consistent definitions are essential across all types of schools receiving public funding.

3) Private voucher schools are not required to report suspension and expulsion data, which disproportionately affect students with disabilities; AB1 fails to offer any correction to this.

4) AB1 specifies that independent charter schools would replace public schools that are deemed failing and insufficiently improved. However, Milwaukee's independent charter schools do not educate nearly the same proportion of students with disabilities as their public-school counterparts. Over 20 percent of MPS students are receiving special education services, while that number is under 10 percent in Milwaukee’s charter schools. When it comes to students with cognitive disabilities, the numbers are even more concerning: MPS educates a five-times-greater proportion of students with cognitive disabilities than Milwaukee’s independent charters. We have serious concerns about the prospect of turning over schools serving a high percentage of students with disabilities to a school sector that is currently failing to educate students with disabilities in fair proportions.

What Can You Do?

This bill is moving quickly; now is the time to let your legislators know what you think!

1. Attend the hearing.

Your presence will be felt, you can testify before the committee, and you can register your opinion on the bill in writing.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015
10:00 AM
417 North (GAR Hall)

2. Contact the members of the Assembly Committee on Education by phone or email.

http://tinyurl.com/kapug7q

3. Contact your legislators.

If you are not sure who your state legislators are, you can find out here:

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/

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