Today, the Mississippi Senate and House will vote on a pair of bills previously passed by the other chambers that would establish a voucher system to allow parents of special-needs students to enroll children in private schools where, at least theoretically, those students to have a better chance at earning a high school diploma.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, there is a gap between the graduation rates of special-needs students and their peers who do not suffer from disabilities. Obviously, some gap is to be expected when the severity of some disabilities is accounted for. But that gap is larger in some states than others. It should come as no surprise to those familiar with Mississippi’s dismal history in education that the gap is most pronounced here.
Based on the data, which looked at the 2011 and 2012 academic years, the overall high school graduation rate of the state was 66 percent, among the lowest in the nation. So, too, was the graduation rate for special needs students; just 24 percent of those students earn a diploma. That 43-percentage point gap is the highest in the U.S.
While other legislative efforts to close that gap have been offered — most of them geared toward directing resources to the existing public school special education programs — it is Senate Bill 2695 and House Bill 488 that have emerged as the leading contenders.
Proponents of the bills say the gap is proof that public schools have been unable to address the problem in a meaningful way. Opponents says the gap is more a symptom of the state’s chronic underfunding of public schools.
The new legislation would establish a five-year pilot program to provide, each year, up to 500 new students with disabilities funds to spend on educational needs, including tuition to private schools. The voucher amount would be $7,000 per student for the 2015-16 school year, and the proposed cost is $3.5 million for the first year.
Opponents say that money could be better spent providing more resources for public schools, an argument that is bolstered by what has happened in other states.
Alabama cut its gap by half, from 42 percent to 21 percent over a two-year period without privatizing special education. Although Alabama education officials cannot point to one single factor in that improvement, it should be noted that the state added 350 “graduation coaches” at its high school, a move officials believe not only helped close that gap but led to an increase in overall graduation rates.
Kansas was one of just a few states that had an achievement gap lower than 10 percentage points, according to the DOE data. Eighty-five percent of all students graduated with a diploma after four years, compared with 77 percent for students with disabilities. In Kansas, one factor for keeping that gap low was a co-teaching program geared toward keeping students with disabilities in regular classrooms with appropriate supports, including money for more teacher’s aids and materials.
While we applaud the legislature for taking up this issue, we are not at all convinced that this bill is a the best path forward. Alabama and Kansas are just two examples of how these gaps can been closed within the established public school framework.
When it comes to education, there continues to be a disturbing trend by our Legislature of shifting blame rather than taking responsibility. These bills are merely the latest evidence of that.
For that reason, legislators would be wise to vote against these companion bills.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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