The school boards at both schools voted this week to violate Oklahoma law, which allows students with disabilities, such at autism or Down’s syndrome, to receive scholarships and transfer to schools that specialize in aiding those populations.
“It’s concerning for these schools to break the law at the expense of children with special needs, and it’s disturbing for them to ignore the law over a philosophical difference of opinion,” said Steele, R-Shawnee. “If these districts have concerns, they should communicate those issues with the Legislature to bring about positive solutions that would benefit students with special needs.
“We can no more allow schools to violate the law because officials object to it than we can allow drivers to ignore the speed limit in a school zone if it ‘inconveniences’ them,” Steele said.
House Bill 3393, by state Rep. Jason Nelson, created the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program Act.
The Oklahoma program is similar to laws in Florida and Georgia that have easily withstood legal challenges. The Florida program has been in place since 1999 and now serves approximately 20,000 students with special needs.
In addition, the scholarship program does not require new spending, but merely redirects existing state funds that are currently spent on the student.
School officials claimed the transfers authorized by the scholarship program would somehow harm their financial standing, but only seven students have applied for the scholarships at Jenks and eight at Broken Arrow, according to the Tulsa World. Both schools are among the largest in the state.
“Our focus should be on helping children with special needs,” Steele said. “It’s clear the parents of these children believe a specialized learning environment will provide greater benefit for their kids.”
