Legislative hearings were held on February 13 for SB 993 and HB 1886 - bills that would create a scholarship tax credit program for special needs children in Missouri. These hearings gave the public an opportunity to hear comments from legislators and to testify either in support or in opposition of these bills.
The Senate hearing was held at 1 p.m. in a packed out room - it literally was standing room only, I know, I stood for the entire hearing. The Senators had a limited amount of time and allowed proponents and opponents to testify alternately. There were four people who spoke for each side and two people who testified for informational purposes only - neither in support or in opposition to the legislation.
The House hearing was held at 3 p.m. also in a packed out room - this time I arrived early enough to grab a seat. The House did not have a time limit and consequently heard testimony for nearly four hours! There were 15 people, mostly parents, who testified in support of the legislation and 10 people, mostly public school staff, who testified in opposition. There were also a few people who testified for informational purposes.
At the end of the day, HB 1886 passed out of committee and is ready for the next step in the legislative process. The Senate committee did not vote on SB 993 but plans to do so at their next committee meeting next week. The really amazing thing here is that both committees were held on the same day - that doesn't ususally happen and because it did, a lot of parents and supporters were able to attend.
Here's what I noticed.
1. The parents who testified were compassionate, compelling, and able to clearly express their frustrations and challenges. They answered questions and some even had their children attend with them, who it has to be said, were very well-behaved. There were several parents in attendance who did not testify but all were able to show their support, especially by wearing a red heart-shaped sticker that said "Have a Heart." For those parents who did testify, many had a similar story to tell. They had to remove their child from School A to School B in order to receive the services they desperately needed. Often these moves were at great personal, emotional, and financial expense. One mother moved out of state for 2 years because Missouri could not provide the services her child needed, while her husband remained in their Missouri home and they only saw each other on weekends and other brief visits.
2. The opposition seemed to stumble over their words and all seemed to be using the same playbook - their arguments were all the same and when they were challenged by the legislators on the committees to explain or answer point-blank questions, many of them could not. All they could do was continue to spout out the same old rhetoric. Their concerns were not for the special needs children. Their concerns were for protecting the systems already in place. Even when discrepancies were called to their attention, they could respond. For example, in both committees it was acknowledged that some public schools contract out with private providers when it is decided the public school cannot provide all of the services a special needs child should receive. Yet, when asked why it was OK for the public school district to make that decision and not the parent they could not respond. Secondly, SB 993 and HB 1886 would create a scholarship for special needs children that would be funded through private contributions (the contributor would receive a tax credit), it would not take money away from public schools - yet the opposition used this as their primary argument. More than one legislator called them out on the carpet and explained how a tax credit program works. There were times when no logical argument could be made by the opposition to explain why they were against the bills.
These hearings were only the first part in a long legislative journey. Stay tuned for more updates!
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