Think Tank Faults Vouchers For Disabled

By MARILYN BROWN The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 27, 2007

TAMPA - Another pillar of former Gov. Jeb Bush's educational reforms - McKay Scholarships - took a jab in a study released Tuesday.

Florida's largest voucher program, using taxpayer money to pay private school tuition for students with disabilities, lacks accountability and offers no proof that it helps children, the study from Education Sector says.

That's to be expected for a system faulted for its lack of accountability since soon after the Legislature created it in 1999, Education Sector's Andy Rotherham said.

"The big surprise is that problems that have been recognized in the past still persist," Rotherham said.

Education Sector is an independent education think tank in Washington. The McKay study was funded by the Annie C. Casey Foundation, based in Baltimore and supporting issues involving children and families. The full report is available at www .educationsector.org.

Florida taxpayers have paid private schools more than $340 million since 2002-03 for McKay students, records show. The schools still have no requirements for curriculum, testing or teacher certification.

McKay was chosen for the Education Sector study because other states are starting or considering similar programs, Rotherham said.

"McKay is basically the model and also the largest," he said. "States more often than not repeat the mistakes other states make."

The report questions support of the McKay program in parent surveys, saying parents are likely to opt for McKay Scholarships if they are unhappy with services they receive in public schools. The vouchers also create an incentive for parents to seek a special education diagnosis to get a voucher, the report says.

State Education Department spokeswoman Jenifer Fennell referred to reports showing high parental satisfaction with the McKay program, stressing that parents make the choice to transfer from public school.

Media reports questioning voucher payments under the program led to state audits in 2003. Locally, Sago Palm Educational Academy in Tampa lost funding for its 10 McKay students after the building's owner was accused of financial misconduct.

Starting this year, schools in the McKay program must conduct employee background checks and make student files available to auditors, the report notes, but information on student outcomes and absence of quality controls are "significant flaws."

"It is virtually impossible to say whether special-needs children using McKay vouchers to attend private schools are faring better, worse, or about the same as they had in their old public schools," the report concludes.

Among recommendations in the report:

•Require private schools in the McKay program to administer state assessments and publicly report results.

•Provide a statewide database of accurate information for parents, including test scores and staff qualifications.

•Create an ombudsman for parent complaints and to protect public money.

•Expand school choices for students with disabilities.

McKay scholarships are available to families of any child with a disability who transfers from public to private school. The state's February report showed 17,884 students, with nearly $89 million in payments going to schools. That will increase when this month's report is completed.

Florida has had three other voucher programs:

•The original opportunity scholarships that allowed students from chronic F-graded public schools to attend private schools with public money. The private school aspect was declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court in January 2006, and no new students have been added.

•A corporate scholarship program that allows corporations to divert state income taxes to buy scholarships for children from low-income families. About 17,000 students use the scholarships, each worth up to $3,750 a year. Schools submit audits and report achievement test results, although students need not take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test required for public schools.

•The taxpayer-funded voluntary prekindergarten program, which pays about $2,500 per child to mostly private and faith-based schools during the regular school year. Little accountability is required, which draws criticism. Public schools offer a summer alternative with certified teachers.

The push to send public tax dollars to private education was a central part of education reform under Bush. Another is the state's school grading system, recently marred by inflated 2006 third-grade reading scores that have complicated this year's report card on schools. School grades due out in mid-June have not been released.

Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com.