The Disabled Need Not Apply Myth
"Private schools won't serve disabled students in a universal
voucher system"



Foundations of the Myth

Advocates of this myth justify it by pointing out that private
schools are not required by law to provide the same services to the
disabled that government run (public) schools do. The myth states
that unless students have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan)
under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), that
they will not receive adequate services for their disabilities.
But, has the IEP system really been effective?



Problems with the IEP system

First, families must be aware of their rights and understand the
process. Lower income and less educated parents typically do not,
and are often taken advantage of by the system. School officials
know the system very well and so the parent is typically outmatched
in the bargaining process. Educational testing is typically done by
psychologists employed by the school district which leaves them
biased at best. Most IEPs are written in a way that imposes minimal
obligations on the school.

Next, enforcing compliance with an IEP is costly, difficult, and
time consuming. There are multiple, significant disincentives to
entering this process. Parents are often reluctant to sue the same
administrators that will continue to take care of their child, and
often, their other children for fear of reprisal.



Is the present system of special education effective?

The results of a 2004 report on education outcomes among special
education students in New York City points out how schools can fail
despite having the IEP system in place. Of eighth graders, only
3.5% pass the state's reading exam, and only 5% pass the math exam.
This is despite New York State spending more than any other state on
special education, 13 thousand dollars OVER AND ABOVE the average of
12 thousand dollars per pupil for regular education.

LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN that is a total of 25 thousand dollars of
educational spending resulting in 3.5% proficient in reading and 5%
proficient in math!!!!!



How do parents of disabled children feel about the quality of their
child's education prior to utilizing a special education voucher?

Jay Greene and Greg Forster of the Manhattan Institute surveyed a
sample of the 12,000 parents utilizing a voucher to attend the
school of their choice under Florida's McKay Scholarship Program
with the following results.

More than two thirds said their prior school failed to provide all
the services required by their child's IEP and over half reported
having conflicts with the prior school over the IEP, and only one
third were satisfied with the IEP process.



Do Private Schools Serve Disabled Students? YES.

Sandra Feldman, former president of the American Federation of
Teachers claimed that "nearly all disabled students are educated in
the public schools". It simply is not true that private schools do
not admit disabled students. In fact, many public schools routinely
contract with private schools to educate disabled students,
particularly students with severe disabilities such as
deaf/blindness, emotional disturbance, and autism.

Wealthy families who can afford to double pay (property taxes and
private tuition) routinely send their children to specialized
private schools for disabilities. Where I live in NY State, I had
several private schools for dyslexia to choose from for my son
Nathaniel including The Gow School in Buffalo, NY and the Kildonan
School in Armenia, NY. All the nationally recognized schools for
learning disabilities are private, and would be available to many
more families if they had access to the 25 thousand dollars
currently spent per special education student in NY State.

I also quickly noticed that all the schools utilizing a program of
cognitive rehabilitation for learning disabilities devised by
Barbara Arrowsmith in Toronto, Ontario were either private or
parochial. The Arrowsmith Program is only available in several
private academies in Vancouver, two private schools in Toronto, six
schools in the Catholic Diocese of Toronto, and a private Jewish Day
School in Long Island. I will be sending Nate to a Christian
College Prep School in Brockville, Ontario utilizing the Arrowsmith
Program next year.

And remember, educational vouchers would encourage the formation of
even more schools for the learning disabled and even more innovation
in techniques to help these challenging and, most often, highly
intelligent youngsters.






How do parents feel about the quality of their child's education
after utilizing a special education voucher?

In the same survey by Greene and Forster, the results were
positive. First, the distribution of disabilities in voucher
schools was roughly the same as in public schools.
51.4% had a specific learning disability, 17.4% had a speech or
language impairment, 9.4% were mentally handicapped, 10.7% were
classified as emotionally disturbed, and 3% were autistic, blind, or
deaf. And the families were not all wealthy, as often claimed by
opponents; over half earned less than 40 thousand dollars in family
income (Florida's median family income is 45 thousand dollars).

Here are the results:

Prior Public School
Voucher School

Parent Dissatisfied 66.6%
7.2%

Average Class Size>25 63.2% 6%

Didn't Provide Services
Required/Promised 65.7%
12.5%

Had Behavioral Problems 40.3% 18.8%

Physically Assaulted 24.7%
6.0%

Bothered/Bullied Often 46.8% 5.3%



Evidence from the Milwaukee Voucher Program

The People for the American Way, a political arm of the teachers'
unions, complained that "it is deeply troubling that the schools in
the [Milwaukee] voucher program are being allowed to turn their
backs on children with special needs."

Brother Bob Smith of Messmer High School estimated 15-20% of his
students had special needs. The Lutheran Special School had 28
elementary students with disabilities ranging from cognitive
disability to emotional disturbance. The Milwaukee Lutheran High
School employed two special education teachers with classes totaling
58 students. Pius XI High School enrolled 50 students with
disabilities. It doesn't appear that these Milwaukee schools are
turning their backs on the disabled.

I hope I have debunked the myth for you. All references are
available upon request. If you'd like information on how to become
involved in this civil rights movement, please email me.

David Smith, MD
Member, United New Yorkers for Choice in Education (www.unyce.org)
Founder, READ (Reading Experts and Advocates for Dyslexia)