Tax Plan Could Aid Private Schools

By Virginia Young and David Hunn, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Feb. 14–JEFFERSON CITY — Using tax credits for private schools — a political lightning rod in Missouri for years — gained a new group of supporters Wednesday: parents of autistic children.

The families are pushing bills that would provide scholarships for children with disabilities. The money would help cover tuition at private schools or public schools away from a family’s home.

At a packed Senate hearing, several mothers recounted their efforts to find services for children diagnosed with autism or an associated disorder. Shari Kaminsky of Kirkwood said her 12-year-old severely autistic son is learning to read, thanks to a private school that costs the family dearly — $32,000 a year.

Critics countered that the scholarship plan would drain money from already strapped public schools, which would be stuck with fixed costs, such as therapists’ salaries.

“Any more money being taken away will only hurt the children being left behind,” said Mary Armstrong, who represents a St. Louis teachers union.

Under the bill, people or corporations who donated to the proposed scholarship fund would have 80 percent of their contribution reimbursed through state tax credits.

The nonprofit fund would then award scholarships. The bill doesn’t spell out the scholarships’ amount nor does it cap the credits the state could award.

The idea is similar to a bill that died in the House last year, except the old plan targeted urban children in low- and middle-income families.

Under the new Senate plan, students who have speech and language impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing, are visually or physically impaired or are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder would be eligible.

At Wednesday’s hearing, some witnesses questioned how the state would hold private schools accountable, because they are not required to meet testing and teacher certification standards.

But the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, rejected the opponents’ arguments.

“Fear is the only thing we have to fear, and that’s what these arguments are: fear of changing the status quo,” he said.

Crowell said he suffered from dyslexia as a child. He said he overcame his disability and went on to college and law school thanks to his mother, who was trained in teaching special-needs children.

“This bill really boils down to helping individuals who don’t have access to the mother I had,” he said

Public school students with disabilities in St. Louis County are being well served, Nancy Ide, chief information officer of the Special School District, said in an interview. The district diagnoses and educates more than 25,000 students with special needs.

Some stay at their home school with the help of extra classes or teachers. About 800 with more severe disabilities attend the district’s five special education schools.

And, in about 180 cases, students have disabilities that the district decides are not served well in public schools, so the students are sent to private schools or other facilities.

Special School District board members voted 7-0 Tuesday night to oppose the proposed tuition tax credits.

Leaders at the Judevine Center for Autism, based in Olivette, said the Senate bill would be a boon to families with autistic children. The center serves 2,300 children and adults across the state.

“School districts do an excellent job,” said Linda Haley, the center’s chief development officer. “But students with autism need very specialized treatment. This allows parents to choose what’s best for their children.”

Jeanne Marshall, the center’s chief program officer, said it costs at least $40,000 a year to educate an autistic child at the center. That cost can run well over $100,000, depending on the child’s needs, Marshall said.

Few Judevine students pay the full cost of such services, she said. Some get help from public school districts and even existing tax-credit programs. But there’s not enough money to go around, and hundreds are on waiting lists for services.

Nationally, about one in 150 children — and one in every 90 boys — is diagnosed with autism or an associated disorder.

vyoung@post-dispatch.com — 573-635-6178

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