US DOJ presses WI to stop voucher school discrimination against students with disabilities
The DOJ sent a letter to Wisconsin’s DPI ordering enforcement of Title II of the American Disabilities Act of 1990. This letter was prompted by a 2011 complaint from the ACLU, the ACLU of Wisconsin, and Disability Rights Wisconsin.
From an ACLU statement:
“Wisconsin has the oldest school voucher program in the country and the Milwaukee program serves approximately 21,000 students. However, while at least 20 percent of Milwaukee’s public school students are children with disabilities, the voucher program serves far fewer disabled students. Families of students with disabilities are never informed of their right to use the school voucher program, no one monitors the voucher schools for ADA compliance, and students with disabilities — even minor disabilities — are routinely denied admission to and pushed out of private voucher schools. These actions systematically exclude students with disabilities from the voucher program and segregate them in the public schools system.”
“Wisconsin has the oldest school voucher program in the country and the Milwaukee program serves approximately 21,000 students. However, while at least 20 percent of Milwaukee’s public school students are children with disabilities, the voucher program serves far fewer disabled students. Families of students with disabilities are never informed of their right to use the school voucher program, no one monitors the voucher schools for ADA compliance, and students with disabilities — even minor disabilities — are routinely denied admission to and pushed out of private voucher schools. These actions systematically exclude students with disabilities from the voucher program and segregate them in the public schools system.”
More information is at Disability Rights Wisconsin.
Footnote:
After they’re done delivering some “immediate strong action” on the school situation, do ya suppose DOJ could open a can of the same stuff on WEDC?
After they’re done delivering some “immediate strong action” on the school situation, do ya suppose DOJ could open a can of the same stuff on WEDC?