Dead? Or Merely Sleeping?

An update:

Missouri’s Special Needs Scholarship tax credit legislation was recently folded into an Omnibus Education Bill on teacher pay, HB 2040/2430. Legislators debated the language about Special Needs students in an especially heated session this Wednesday. Speaker Rod Jetton’s comments allude to the incident of an altercation between Speaker Pro-Tem Steve Tilley and Representatives Trent Skaggs and Brian Nieves. I imagine it happened in a “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” kind of way, after reading some eye-witness reports.

Ultimately, the scholarship language was stripped from the bill via an amendment from Rep. Maynard Wallace, a former public school Superintendent.

Speaker Pro-Tem Tilley was quoted as saying that the teacher pay bill wouldn’t “see the light of day” after the loss of the scholarship tax credit language, but the cry this morning is that the bill may be resurrected. It’s a significant loss for both sides of the aisle if assistance for both teachers and special needs children cannot come to terms with one another.

We’ll see what the day brings. You've gotta admire Tilley for putting his foot down on this one.

The need for autism education reform in Missouri (Part 2)

Some Unions Are Not Thinking About the Children!

Something to think about...thousands of poor special needs children are finally getting the services and education they need and deserve...what do you do? Be happy they have that chance, not even notice, or threaten to sure to make sure it does not keep happening? The last option...who would this, right? Well, an education union in Florida is! And they say they only care about the children, well obviously not! I find this completely absurd, unthinkable!



According to this Florida blog, Political Forum:



A Florida education union is threatening to sue to shut down a school choice program in the state if the program expands. They have already successfully sued to shut down a previous voucher program in the state. Basically, if "too many" families opt for school choice, the nuclear litigation weapons will be launched by the union, which is bound and determined that Floridian children be taught their way, as opposed to being taught the best way. Remember all of this the next time you hear educational unions tell you that they only want what is best for your children. Poppycock. They only want what is best for the unions' political power and for the job security of union members.



The Cato at Liberty had this to say: Keep in mind that scholarship organizations must allocate all donations to scholarships as they receive them, they can’t carry over more than 25% of donations from one year to the next, and the maximum scholarship value is fixed at $3,750 (far below per pupil spending in the public schools). So the only way the total value of scholarship donations could triple would be for triple the number of low-income families to ask for them.

So the Florida Education Association is saying that if too many poor parents want to escape the public schools and get their kids into independent schools, it will shut them and this whole program down.



Now, this brings us to Missouri. We are trying to pass a similar program, one that would give scholarships to thousands of Missouri's special needs. Lets hope Missouri will do the right thing and pass it. Those education unions are trying to stop the program from passing here. They seem to act like they are all for the children, but they are really only for the children if they can teach them their way. This is evident in Florida and it becoming evident here by the way they are trying to keep this from passing. However, the unions way is obviously not cutting it...if it were, why would people be so adamant about education reform and why would the schools and the children be failing? Absurdity is what I call it!

Tax Credits are all around us--why not for Special Needs education?

Tax Credits come in many colors, shapes and sizes. On March 11, 2008, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill giving a tax break for Missourians who buy US-made hybrid vehicles.

The bill allows the purchaser of said hybrid to deduct either $2000 or 10 percent of the vehicle’s price (whichever is less).

Another tax credit for Agriculture called the New Generation Cooperative Incentive tax credit (quite a mouthful) has gotten some media attention as Missouri elected officials have taken advantage of them. Specifically, Rep. John Quinn’s farm has received over $200,000 in credits; Sen. Wes Shoemyer has received over $12,000; Sen. Bill Stouffer has received nearly $24,000.

Rep. Brian Munzlinger has received nearly $25,000 in tax credits; Rep. Therese Sander’s husband Theodore has received $18,000 in tax credits; Rep. Jim Whorton has received $5,000 in tax credits; Rep. Terry Witte has received $2,600 in tax credits; and Sen. Frank Barnitz with $1,250 in tax credits.

A tax credit for preserving historic buildings gives a tax deduction of 25% of rehabililitation costs. The Film Production Tax Credit Program provides a state income tax credit to qualified film production companies up to 50% of the company's expenditures in Missouri for production, not to exceed $1 million in tax credits per project. There are many other tax credits mainly focused on stimulating economy and agriculture in Missouri. Neighborhood Assistance Program and Youth Opportunities Program tax credits have been awarded to religious not-for-profits who benefit the community through social projects. Federally, we have tax credits for college tuition, housing and redevelopment.

Tax credits are used to reward good behavior or offset costs for low-income of economically burdened people or businesses. With the myriad of tax credits out there, what is standing in the way of a tax credit for special needs students? The financial burden falls to the family to pay for everything from insurance to tutoring, and again their costs rise when they have to move to another school district or pay for a private school in an effort to get what many people take for granted: an appropriate education.

Let’s reward good behavior, like philanthropists and businesses donating to a fund that offsets tuition costs. Let’s support the families who are supporting Missouri’s precious special needs children and helping them become participating members of society.