Questions about how a voucher program would — or wouldn’t — serve children with disabilities took center stage at a Texas Senate education committee hearing Tuesday to discuss the main school voucher bill on the table during the Legislature’s latest special session.
The Senate’s main 'school choice' bill would prioritize vouchers for children with disabilities, among others. But parents raised concerns that recipients who choose private school would no longer be protected by federal law.
Some disability advocates have raised concerns about funneling public dollars into private schools when the state’s public school system, which serves most special needs students in Texas, remains underfunded. The number of students with disabilities in Texas has increased by 200,000 in the last five years, according to Steven Aleman, policy specialist at Disability Rights Texas.
Gonzalez Saucedo, whose sister has an intellectual disability, said another concern is that vouchers could create “segregated education” between disabled and non-disabled students. Students with disabilities often benefit from the chance to learn and play alongside non-disabled peers, and vouchers might incentivize parents to separate their children, she said.
Benestante, whose son has autism, said a private school in Austin refused to take her son for its summer camp when he was in elementary school.
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