Comments on: 80th Legislature: Autism Voucher Bill Is Dead http://capitolannex.com/2007/04/24/80th-legislature-autism-voucher-bill-is-dead/ Outside Austin, But Terribly Well Connected Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:34:57 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: yougogirl http://capitolannex.com/2007/04/24/80th-legislature-autism-voucher-bill-is-dead/comment-page-1/#comment-112525 yougogirl Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:12:07 +0000 http://capitolannex.com/2007/04/24/80th-legislature-autism-voucher-bill-is-dead/#comment-112525 The irony is, this was never a "Voucher bill" as it was consistent with Federal disability law that states parents should play a key role in placement decisions and public schools must contract with private providers when necessary to provide an appropriate education. SB 1000 was merely an essential device to enforce federal law since the TEA is boldly non-compliant, it was not creating new law. But due to all the compromises required to even attempt to bring it to a vote and try to do something good for the autism community, any sort of parental role in determining appropriate placement was removed from the bill and put back into the hands of the public schools who are already failing our children. So, certainly no argument can be made that it ended up a "voucher bill", yet still it was squashed. Makes you wonder who really is looking out for the needs of these children, doesn't it? The irony is, this was never a “Voucher bill” as it was consistent with Federal disability law that states parents should play a key role in placement decisions and public schools must contract with private providers when necessary to provide an appropriate education. SB 1000 was merely an essential device to enforce federal law since the TEA is boldly non-compliant, it was not creating new law. But due to all the compromises required to even attempt to bring it to a vote and try to do something good for the autism community, any sort of parental role in determining appropriate placement was removed from the bill and put back into the hands of the public schools who are already failing our children. So, certainly no argument can be made that it ended up a “voucher bill”, yet still it was squashed.

Makes you wonder who really is looking out for the needs of these children, doesn’t it?

]]>