Autism Scholarships dollars

[Guest guest]

I just looked at the TEA AEIS Reports for the state. From the numbers

shown there we are debating over the potential for what will most likely

be very little money! According to the 2005-2006 report, total

expenditures for ALL students came out to $5428 per student. Special Ed

expenditures were only $886 per student. I’d bet that if vouchers

passed, they wouldn’t exceed the combination of the two which is $6314.

That wouldn’t even begin to fund a home ABA program or private school.

(numbers came from

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2006/index.html page 18)

According to “Selected AEIS State Data – A Multi-Year History for

2003-2006”, also from TEA, our state is currently 55.6% Economically

Disadvantaged which means over ½ of our population couldn’t afford to

supplement vouchers for their child. (see

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/hist/state.html page 2)

When you look at the raw numbers, it doesn't look feasible for the

majority of the state. It could also be called discriminatory against

less wealthy families, other disabilities, etc. not to mention the

limited number of areas where specialized schools are available. On

that note, how many of the schools in the state actually specialize in

our children? I know some charters will accept them, but don't

specialize. Also, you can go to a charter school for free and wouldn't

need a voucher for that.

Tonya