Voucher schools don't always take special needs students

Rory Linnane:

Kim Fitzer's daughter, Trinity, was attending kindergarten at Northwest Catholic School in Milwaukee with a voucher from the state for the 2011-12 school year. But Trinity, then 6, had gastrointestinal problems and anxiety -- conditions that Fitzer said the private school was ill-equipped to address.

Fitzer said the school repeatedly called her to pick up Trinity, saying she was "out of control." After Trinity knocked papers to the floor and kicked a teacher who tried to restrain her, Fitzer was told the girl was no longer welcome at the school.

Northwest Catholic Principal Michelle Paris said in an email statement that "every decision was made in the very best interest of the child with mutual agreement of our school leadership and the parent."

But Fitzer said it was not her decision, and she "didn't have an option."

Trinity transferred to a Milwaukee public school, where she has received special education services that address her anxiety as a disability.

Under the state's parental choice program, Northwest Catholic received a $6,442 voucher for Trinity's enrollment in the private school, but the public school got no extra money for taking her through the end of the school year. Critics of school choice, and a pending federal lawsuit, charge that students with disabilities, such as Trinity, are being underserved by publicly funded vouchers meant to give low-income students in Milwaukee and Racine the chance of a private education.

Much more on the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 8, 2013 12:40 AM
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