A missed opportunity for special needs education

Well, we got what we asked for. 

Last week, a House panel rejected legislation that would have provided tax credits to North Carolina parents whose special needs children leave public schools to attend private schools specializing in learning disabilities.  The measure was shot down swiftly after public school lobbyists argued against the legislation on the basis that disabled students already are making great progress in public schools.  Try telling that to the Walton, Lippincott or Abernathy families.  Or the parents of Brandon Petruk.

The lobbyists also contended that private schools are not accountable under IDEA, the federal act governing special needs education in public schools. Never mind the notion that the private sector, which has to compete to keep its customer base, is somehow less accountable than a government-run monopoly.  What is most noteworthy is the timeliness of their IDEA argument.

Although few are connecting the dots, a federal Supreme Court ruled last week to allow tuition reimbursements for families of special needs students when public school districts fail to provide a free and adequate education.  Pitt County school officials were quick to dismiss the ruling's potential impact on already cash-strapped state and local budgets.  In Charlotte, however, the public school system recently settled a similar lawsuit to the tune of $125,000, after shelling out nearly $64,000 in legal fees. 

You don't have to be a fiscal analyst to realize that annual tax credits of $6,000 per family, estimated to save the state millions per year, would be preferable to additional court cases like the one in Charlotte.

If our legislators weren't so darn busy ignoring families and handing out Hollywood tax incentives, maybe they could have done the math.