Suzanne Bonamici Claims Private School Vouchers Can Cost Children With Disabilities Their Rights

2 days ago

During Tuesday’s House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) discussed the consequences of school choice policy on public school funding.

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Transcript

00:00I'll now recognize the ranking member for five minutes.

00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:04Thank you to the witnesses.

00:05You know, nearly one in five K-12 students attend school in a rural community.

00:10And rural schools are, in particular, are reliant on the federal funding.

00:15They typically have a smaller population, which means a smaller tax base.

00:20They're also vital employers, and they provide many services to the communities.

00:23For example, shelters for natural disasters, food pantries, before-and-after care.

00:28And importantly, students in rural areas do not have private schools geographically

00:32close to them to make a voucher useful.

00:35We've seen many conservative state lawmakers from rural districts oppose statewide voucher

00:39programs for that reason, including recently when 16 rural Republicans in Georgia voted

00:45to defeat a school voucher bill, and in Texas, where the House voted to block any state funding

00:49from being used for vouchers.

00:50So I want to ask you, Ms. Levin, how does the implementation of a school voucher program

00:55affect rural schools and the funding of rural schools?

00:58And are vouchers a viable alternative to the students who go to school there?

01:01And how would vouchers affect the greater community in a rural area?

01:06Thank you for the question.

01:08Vouchers are devastating to rural communities, and they don't provide any benefits.

01:12So as we've, as you and I have mentioned, there are very few private school options

01:18for students in rural communities.

01:21But the rural public schools that serve them have less elasticity, less room in their budget

01:26than many larger urban and suburban districts.

01:29So any cuts to their budgets can be devastating for school programs, including for them to

01:34cover their fixed costs, such as a library or the heating or cooling in a school.

01:39I know as a former state legislator, and I know there are other former state legislators

01:43here, it's not always easy to find the funding to fill those gaps.

01:47That's exactly right.

01:48And so when voucher programs take money away from state budgets or public education budgets,

01:52specifically statewide, that's going to affect rural school budgets.

01:56They're getting no benefit, but they're losing those programs and services, as well as devastating

02:00the wider community that relies on it.

02:02And I have another question, too.

02:03We know that private schools often deny admission to children with disabilities or subject them

02:07to inappropriate or unfair discipline and even expulsion.

02:11I'd like to enter into the record a report by NCLD, the National Center for Learning

02:15Disabilities called Private School Vouchers, Education Savings Account, and Tax Incentive

02:20Programs, Implications and Considerations for Students with Disabilities.

02:23It was originally published in 2017, but updated in 2024, and it provides examples of this

02:29type of school conduct.

02:30Enter into the record.

02:31Without objection.

02:33And Ms. Levin, when students with disabilities do attend a private school under a voucher

02:38program, they're considered parentally placed in a private school, and thus they forfeit

02:41many rights and protections under the IDEA, and as a result, the schools are considered

02:46to be complying with the law, even when the students are not receiving the same quality

02:50and quantity of services they would in a public school that are mandated with an IEP, Individualized

02:56Education Program, such as speech, occupational, or physical therapy.

03:00So Ms. Levin, do private school vouchers adequately serve students with disabilities?

03:05They do not, and they actively hurt their rights.

03:07As you said, the students lose many of their rights.

03:09Their parents lose the right to participate and have close contact with their education,

03:15and they lose rights under Section 504 and the ADA as well.

03:18So just to clarify, the families of children with disabilities, when they take a private

03:22school voucher, they actually lose their rights?

03:24That's correct.

03:25They lose the vast majority of their rights.

03:26And now, Mr. Blanks, I have to thank you for sharing your story.

03:29I just have a yes or no question.

03:31Your organization, the American Federation for Children, that was organized and funded

03:35by the DeVos family, is that correct?

03:38Just for context.

03:39Yes or no?

03:40Yes.

03:42I appreciate that.

03:43I'm going to yield back the balance of my time.

Suzanne Bonamici Claims Private School Vouchers Can Cost Children With Disabilities Their Rights

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