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Matthew Ladner
Goldwater Institute Daily Email June 1, 2009 Special thanks to Governor Jan Brewer for calling a special session to rescue the 473 disabled and foster children left stranded by the Arizona Supreme Court's ruling that struck down their school voucher program, and to the legislators who crafted and passed a new tax credit to help them. "Lexie's Law," named after Lexie Weck, a special-needs student in the voucher program, creates a new $5 million corporate tax credit for businesses that provide funding to keep children with disabilities and those in foster care in schools that best meet their individual needs. Beneficiaries of the now-defunct voucher programs will get first priority. Lexie's Law represents an important step in providing options for parents with disadvantaged children, who are often poorly served by public schools. Florida originated private school choice for special education students with the creation of the McKay Scholarship program in 1999. Today, some 888 private schools educate more than 20,000 special-needs students through the program. These programs are truly a win for everyone. Disadvantaged students get access to the
schools they need and public schools are able to stop diverting funds from general to
special education. Next session, Arizona lawmakers should enhance Lexis's Law by creating an individual
tax credit for people who help foster children and children with disabilities attend
schools that better meet their needs. Learn more: Florida Department of Education: McKay Program Manhattan Institute: The Effect of Special Education Vouchers on Public School Achievement: Evidence From Florida's McKay Scholarship Program East Valley Tribune: School choice helps disabled Ariz. students |
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Another benefit of these programs is that disabled students who remain in public schools
appear to be better-served. As the chart above demonstrates, since the implementation
of the McKay program, Florida students with disabilities who attend public schools
have made three times as much progress on fourth grade reading as similar students.