Gov. Greg Abbott delivers his State of the State tackle Feb. 16, 2023 in San Marcos (Governor’s Office Photo)
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education (TCASE) criticized Gov. Greg Abbott’s promotion of state-funded Education Savings Accounts throughout his State of the State Address Thursday.
During his speech, Abbott continued his endorsement of “school choice” for Texas households. Compared to conventional vouchers, state-funded Education Savings Accounts use public funds for issues like tuition to personal faculties.
Outside of tuition, these ESAs can use the cash to pay for different authorised academic bills, like tutoring or on-line programs.
In 2020, Abbott used some federal coronavirus aid {dollars} to determine the Supplemental Special Education Services grant program. It was designed to “offset learning disruptions related to COVID-19” for college kids enrolled in special education packages.
In his tackle, Abbott stated he wished to increase the present program that created education financial savings accounts for college kids enrolled in special education packages.
However, TCASE condemned the transfer, saying personal faculties aren’t held to the identical customary for special education assets.
“ESAs will not provide ‘education freedom’ to all students because private schools do not have to follow the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that protect students with disabilities,” TCASE Executive Director Theresa Parsons stated in a launch.
“The SSES program was originally sold as a way to support students with disabilities. Converting this program to an ESA for all students tells me it was a smoke screen to usher in vouchers,” TCASE Director of Governmental Relations Andrea Chevalier added within the launch.
story by Source link