The Department of Development would oversee the program and would determine who could be a sponsorship organization.  The department would also be required to conduct studies that measure the student achievement, parent satisfaction and fiscal impact of the program.  The bill would sunset after six years.

This legislation was named for Representative Scharnhorst’s late grandson Bryce, who was autistic.  CECM looks forward to once again supporting Bryce’s Law to give families with IEPs access to the best possible education. Please check out our section on Scholarship Tax Credits for more information on how these programs are helping students in other states.

A: It creates a special needs scholarship tax credit program to be administered by the Department of Economic Development. The director of the DED establishes criteria and standards to determine which organizations may be classified as scholarship granting organizations. Parents will be able to use the scholarships to send their children to a school well-suited for their special needs. This legislation is strictly intended to assist special needs children and their families in affording the best available educational opportunities.

Q: Who does this legislation serve?

A: This legislation would serve K – 12 students currently attending a public school with an IEP including, but not limited to students who are mentally handicapped, speech and language impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, visually impaired, dual sensory impaired, physically impaired, emotionally handicapped, specific learning disabled, diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, or hospitalized or homebound due to illness or disability.

Q: How will these scholarships help parents?

A: These scholarships will give parents the opportunity to choose for their children to attend public school in another district or an approved private school. The program would provide parents many more options as they attend to the needs of their children’s education. Families receiving scholarships will be able to use them not only for payment of tuition and fees at their chosen school, but also to cover the costs of transportation to a public school outside of a student’s resident school district.

Q: How will the special needs scholarships be funded?

A: The scholarships will be funded entirely by charitable donations from Missouri taxpayers who freely choose to contribute to the educational well-being of special needs children. Beginning in 2009, an individual or corporate taxpayer may claim a tax credit against the taxpayer’s state tax liability in an amount equal to 80% of the taxpayer’s contribution to a scholarship granting organization.

Q: Has similar legislation passed in other states?

A: Yes. Legislation has successfully passed in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Utah to create special needs scholarship programs.

Q: Will students lose rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) if they participate in the scholarship?

A: No, although IDEA rights apply only to public schools receiving federal funds under the IDEA. Once a student leaves the public school system, the IDEA does not apply to the relationship between the student and their chosen non-public school. However, a student is free at any time to return to the public school system where the IDEA applies.

Q: Does this program hinder the progress the special needs community has made to mainstream students into the typical classroom?

A: Both public and private schools can offer typical classroom settings for students with special needs. This scholarship program offers parents more resources with which to find the schools best prepared to serve their children’s educational needs. In some cases, parents may decide their children are better off in a specialized setting rather than a typical classroom. Research has shown that the attention given in a specialized environment can effectively equip a special needs student to return to a traditional classroom for the remainder for their education or participate in more incorporated activities with the typical student.

Q: How are private schools regulated?

A: Private schools, including those eligible to participate in the scholarship program, are already regulated under state law. Private schools are bound by non-discrimination laws and must also meet the same legal requirements as public schools when it comes to the safety of their students. Schools participating in the special needs scholarship program would be required to meet the same state requirements for criminal background checks for employees and exclude from employment any person not permitted by state law to work in a nonpublic school. More importantly, the parents of scholarship students will be holding their chosen schools accountable. Parents are in a far better position than just about any government official to determine whether a nonpublic school is adequately meeting their child’s needs. If one school is not providing what the child needs, these scholarships allow parents to find another school that will.

Q: Does this scholarship program hurt public schools by taking money away?

A: No. Since these scholarships will be funded entirely by private, charitable donations, the public schools will retain all the money they would normally receive under the state’s school finance formula.  The effect on the public schools will be exactly the same as when a non-scholarship student goes to a private school or moves to another school district.  In fact, since educating special needs children is so resource-intensive and many public schools are not well-equipped for that task, the scholarship program may even make it easier for public schools to focus on traditional education.  A recent study published by the Show-Me Institute shows that tax credit scholarship programs would allow thousands of Missouri’s children to have access to better, more personalized educational opportunities—but they would also save the state millions of dollars each year because the scholarships would be paid for with charitable donations instead of tax dollars.

Q: Can parents use the scholarships at private religious schools? Is that constitutional?

A: Yes, the program would allow parents to use the scholarships at private religious schools. Since the scholarships are completely funded by private donations, this program should not raise Constitutional questions about public funds going to religious schools.  Even if the program did use public funds, however, the United States Supreme Court recently affirmed, in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the constitutionality of school choice programs that include both religious and non-religious schools.  While the Missouri Constitution is understood to be more restrictive than the First Amendment where public funds and religious organizations are concerned, in Americans United v. Rogers, the Missouri Supreme Court approved of a scholarship program for college students that allowed public funds to be used at participating religious schools. And just last year, in Saint Louis University v. Masonic Temple Association of Saint Louis, the Missouri Supreme Court held that a Catholic school was constitutionally permitted to realize financial benefit from application of Missouri’s Tax Increment

At the same time school districts are scrambling to deal with decreased funding as the economic recession has led to declining tax revenue. St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) recently cutting nursing staff in their district is just one of many recent examples of schools cutting back to close budget deficits. SLPS is dealing with a deficit of $53 million.

The reality that children with autism, and other special needs, are increasing at an alarming rate and schools are receiving less funds leads to this question: How will these special needs students receive an appropriate education? In Missouri, legislators are having trouble funding existing programs, like Career Ladder which gives teachers additional pay for performing extra tutoring and other functions, and are warning of more cuts to come. In addition Missouri,according to the recommendation of the state’s education commissioner, is not applying for the first half of the Race to the Top federal competitive grant program.

One way forward in funding of special needs education is to incentivize the private charity of businesses and individuals to get involved. One way other states have done this is by allowing scholarship tax credit programs. In these programs individuals or corporation are given tax credits for donating to an approved scholarship program. These scholarships are awarded to individuals and used at the school of their choice or to receive additional specialized education in addition to the school they are currently attending. Several states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Utah have scholarship tax credit programs targeted at students with special needs. A recent study of Florida’s program has concluded that the program is helping to better diagnosis students with special needs.

As the number of special needs students increases we must turn to new methods of funding to provide the best chance for these students to receive an appropriate education, leading them to become productive members of our society. Government entities, both state and local, are not going to be able to keep up with the increased demand for funding that these students will require. Reform minded methods, like scholarship tax credit programs, are going to be the only way to see that these children are not left behind.