How Funding Cuts to Public Schools Hurt Private and Parochial Students with Special Needs
Should public school districts be responsible for special education services of students in private and parochial schools? How do they manage this when they have financial problems serving the students who need special education services in public schools?
I am not referring to special education vouchers which some states provide students when the special education services in their public schools are supposedly lacking. Vouchers are controversial and seen as a tactic to privatize public schools. They have not always been used as intended.
What I’m discussing here has to do with a variety of amenities that have been funded by public schools to support students with disabilities in their private or parochial schools.
Recently, controversy arose about this in Omaha. Omaha Public Schools (OPS) funded special education services for a student with auditory disabilities attending a Catholic school. The school district paid for a speech therapist and the hearing aid and microphone system that amplified the teacher’s voice in the child’s classroom.
This year OPS declined to pay for the services, citing problematic budget cuts. This has upset parents in the Catholic school and other private and parochial schools. Administrators from Christian and Jewish schools also expressed concerns.
Most school districts provide some services to private schools under IDEA. How much funding is usually a decision negotiated within the school district and the private and Continue reading: How Funding Cuts to Public Schools Hurt Private and Parochial Students with Special Needs
