I am glad to see at least that people are talking and debating the very serious issues raised by the latest bills to be reviewed by the Missouri House and Senate. I was there at the hearings. For an overview of the bills, you can find everything you wnat to know at cec-mo.org. For public commentary and debate, pro and con, see this article from The Southeast Missourian.
The claims of the opposition that the bills (HB 1886~'Bryce's Bill'., SB 993 and SB 770) will riun our public school system are scare tactics. How can they ruin a system that is already in ruin? You ARE aware that SLPS has lost its accreditation and KCPS is on the verge of doing the same, RIGHT? Policies like the ones advanced by Senator Rupp, Senator Crowell and Representative Scharnhorst exist in other states and have provided much needed relief to those that have availed themselves of the scholarships. In fact these bills took their model from success stories in other states. It was pointed out that in Florida, after 6 or 7 years that only 5% of the eligible populace have enrolled and no hardship has been visited upon those districts~same in other states as well. In fact, in the presence of alternatives it is found that public schools actually improve!
Regarding the allegation that these bills are 'vouchers' but no one will admit it, this is not true either. One supporter flat out said these are vouchers. However, as you will find in the comments in the article and to the article, there is a misuderstanding that this is public money going to private institutions. Not so~the bills create 501c3's that private INDIVIDUALS and entities can contribute to who then grant scholarships to qualified applicants.
I thought that the opposition~folks from the SLPS and the teachers' unions and school board reps~were the best defense of the bills actually. For all the mentions of success stories from parents who found quality education outside of their assigned school district, the educrats cried that this is a POLICY issue and they NEED the money from those kids in order to continue to serve their students.
But, though they get the money, they flat out admitted their inability to serve the students. What is true about this situation that the public educrats won't seem to accept is that releasing these children to their parents would allow the system to focus on what they CAN do and alleviate the burden of having to educate children they are not qualified to help.
It was also noted by the representatives hearing testimony that the public system already contracts to private institutions with their alloted monies, at times. The question posed was why cannot parents make the same choices?! Good question, Representative Muscheny!
Hey, by the way~It was also noted that some public schools actually do a great job. One Mother testified that one of her autistic sons was exceptionally served by the Kirkwood Special Schools, but that the second autistic son was failed miserably. They would not release him however. She now pays $32,000 a year to a private system~Giant Steps and that son is thriving~though her family is under tremendous financial strain.
Oh~and the parents who receive these scholarships could apply them to a PUBLIC school too~like Kirkwood! It's somewhat like allowing a Pell Grant (public money) going to a private higher education institution~except this is private money...
A Mother testified that her child spent 6 years in the St. Louis Public Special School District and that the district insisted on addressing behavioral issues instead of opening books with her child, that he has learned NOTHING from his public school, that he was in a room absent of ANY books and that the only things he's learned have been directly from her. She was on the verge of tears explaining that she had reached out to every one she could within the district for support and got nothing. She was promised one-on-one tutoring by someone in the special schools in exchange for not talking to Channel 2 and she complied. Her son received no tutoring. Then Mary Armstrong from the St. Louis Public Schools said she was going to follow up on this! They have wasted 6 years of this child's life!! Only when the Mother takes a day and goes to the state capitol and testifies before both the House and the Senate does Mary Armstrong offer to 'look into it'.
Finally, this is not just about Autism. These bills as they are currently written, are about all disabilities. It's just that Autism is becoming epidemic and it's getting alot of deserved attention. These people just need a little help cutting through the red tape of our public education system. Allowing parents to make choices on behalf of their children without having to change zip codes would alleviate a great deal of stress in the lives of good people just trying to take care of their kids. Can't we all agree that PARENTS are the most qualified to direct the course of their children's lives? Countless families have been disrupted and this places great burden on our society. It's just not right~Quite a few parents were present that moved their entire families for the sake of one child! Some of them moved 2 and 3 times! One was in and out of 6 schools! Can you IMAGINE?!
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