A new lawsuit is challenging the voucher scheme of Frank Edelblut, New Hampshire’s commissioner of education. Edelblut, formerly an accountant, lacks meaningful experience in the field of education outside his politically appointed post. He is being sued by the American Federation of Teachers for allegedly misusing funds that were meant solely for public schools in the state.
The statutory requirement for the disbursement of public money prohibits all other financial transactions, which the plaintiffs argue extends to providing public money to private and religious schools—something that the voucher law has done.
The current voucher expenditures have ballooned to over $20 million, despite the commissioner having promised that the cost of the program would be nearly one-tenth the current taxpayer obligation. Funneling dollars to the voucher program is detrimental to public schools and the students they serve.
This diversion of public money away from public schools came at a time when schools in New Hampshire—and across the country—were having difficulty retaining staff, especially support staff who work with children with special needs. While there are education support professionals making less than $15 per hour, the commissioner has spent lavishly on schools that are not even required to fulfill Individualized Education Plans, which are designed to meet students’ special needs and backed by Federal law. In other words, the ill-devised voucher scheme both makes it more difficult for public districts to fill the positions to help students currently qualifying for legally mandated services and gives that money away to places that can ignore documented disabilities.
According to a study conducted by the National Education Association, salary growth for support staff nationwide has grown over the past ten years to an average just above $35,000. This number, however, represents a decline in real wages when factoring in inflation. Consequently, support professionals today are making $500 less than they were ten years ago.
The 1970s landmark bipartisan Individuals with Disabilities Education Act pledged to cover up to 40 percent of district costs related to providing an appropriate educational setting for students with disabilities, who number close to six million in total. Congress has consistently fallen short in fulfilling this critical funding need.
In fact, the National Center for Learning Disabilities found that the federal government is providing under 15 percent of the costs, leaving states and local districts to finance the majority of support services.
Under-funding needed support for students with learning disabilities has an impact on all students. Support professionals provide a great deal of dignity to children by facilitating small groups, helping them through tricky social and academic situations, and providing students with learning differences with incremental breaks to help them succeed.
These are broad services, but it’s important to recognize that when funding is inadequate, even these measures may disappear. And it is not fair. It is not fair to a child who has a melt down in front of her peers. It is not fair to the children who want to learn but must wait because their classroom is not sufficiently staffed. Public funding for public schools reaffirms the rights of all children.
Students deserve our support, and vouchers aimed at helping the well-to-do at the cost of providing support to the most vulnerable is simply unjustifiable. This includes regressive voucher laws that send public money to schools with no public accountability and with no requirement to aid special needs students. Still, states like New Hampshire are considering expanding such programs, effectively defunding established and regulated professional public services for special education. The thought of this is a travesty. The impact: a devastating blow to disability rights.
We must not permit the further erosion of services for students living with disabilities. Privatizers mask their efforts with misleading names, like “Education Freedom Accounts,” while they drain funds that would otherwise be part of a broader pool of resources for students at neighborhood schools. In reality, these vouchers undermine services that are proven to promote independence and self-advocacy.
Increasing funds for resources that help students with special needs would also free up money to go toward a fair wage for support professionals. Education should not be for the few who can afford the posh life—it must be free and high quality for all, including those with special needs.