Autism School Choice Bill Withdrawn
The only school voucher measure given a chance of passage in the current session – one that would have allowed autistic children to attend any public or private school using tax dollars – has been pulled off the Senate bill calendar and its prospects now appear dim. Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said Tuesday she has pulled the measure for now and will only bring it back if she can rework it to her satisfaction.
“I won’t say it’s gone for the session, but I won’t put it back (on the Senate calendar) until I can get it written the way I originally intended,” Ms. Shapiro said, noting that efforts to strike a compromise on the measure “neutered” it to the extent that it won’t accomplish what she wanted. The senator also decided to concentrate on other portions of her legislative package, pointing to a Senate rule that allows senators to have no more than five bills on the Senate intent calendar on any day.
The main opposition to the autistic measure came from Senate Democrats, who banded together to keep Ms. Shapiro from gaining the necessary two-thirds vote of the chamber to bring the bill up for debate. Critics have argued that the bill would take money away from public schools and open the door to a larger private school voucher program. Ms. Shapiro and other supporters said they were trying to give reasonable alternatives to parents of the estimated 17,000 autistic children in Texas.
Comments
Well, I guess the Democrats have paid off the Teachers Unions on this one. Nothing like throwing little kids under the bus for some political support.
Posted by: DevilYack | April 25, 2007 10:16 AM
I would say to the contrary, they have done a great service to Texas public school children.
Posted by: Lori | April 25, 2007 1:00 PM
Amen to that! This bill was just a way to introduce vouchers into our public school system. The proponents of this bill have stopped at nothing to spread their propaganda. I heard an advertisement on KLUV the other morning that actually stated it would lower people's taxes! We should not be diverting our tax dollars from public schools into private schools which don't have to comply with No Child Left Behind or State standards. We should be training our teachers better on how to deal with autistic children in the regualar classroom.
Posted by: Jennifer | May 1, 2007 9:51 AM
Too bad, so sad. I guess government indoctrination is good for all - whether we like it or not. Kids with autism have very special needs and, of course depending on severity, cannot be adequately handled in a regular classroom. My hat is off to our dedicated teachers. However, all that money and power in the hands of the government just begs to be wasted.
Our local school discrict is crowing that they lowered taxes but the reality is that the legislature made them do it and it wouldn't have occured without the mandate. Some competition would be good. Its too bad the poor people don't get any choices - best keep 'em poor and dependent.
Posted by: Abby | May 3, 2007 7:24 PM