Opinion: NC Republicans’ school voucher expansion will leave disabled kids like mine behind

The North Carolina legislature just agreed to pump more public money into private schools. Here’s why that’s bad for children with disabilities.

For my family there is no plan B. If our kid is struggling in his public school, there are no good options. Public school is our last best bet. School choice has very little to do with the choices of parents, but everything to do with the policy choices of our elected leaders.

Our North Carolina Legislature is meeting this week to pump more money into private schools. At the same time, they’re refusing to fund our public schools. Constitutionally, the North Carolina General Assembly is the primary funder of our public schools. Every public school bus has the state’s name on the side. These are our schools, the North Carolina General Assembly’s schools. 

Why would they ignore the glaring needs in front of them? Why aren’t they taking up the responsibility mandated by our state constitution?

For example, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) published a report, mandated by the NCGA to look at changing the funding formula for students with disabilities in public schools. It was a start in the right direction. The report detailed a way to maintain the current amount of funding, but distribute the money to the students with the most need. However, nothing was done. 

Republicans in the legislature aren’t even fixing a funding formula for public schools. Instead of relying on evidence-based solutions offered up by the report, the NC General Assembly decided to pour more money into vouchers targeted for students with disabilities.

Giving out a voucher doesn’t fix the issues that arise when teaching students with disabilities. It only pushes responsibility and accountability away from state lawmakers. Families are tasked with finding an educational fit for kids who often don’t fit anywhere. Many times, our kids aren’t welcome in private schools. Those private schools designed for disabled children offer little inclusion with typical peers and often have very long wait lists.  

My kid deserves inclusion and specialized teaching as well as someone who understands the general high school curriculum. I know some turn to homeschool options, but I’m not a teacher and sitting my kid in front of a screen with a series of apps isn’t acceptable. Many parents tried this during the pandemic and their kids came away with learning or social emotional gaps. 

Meanwhile, our public schools deserve even more than just new funding formulas. Our kids deserve well-paid teachers. They deserve HVAC systems that function in the height of summer and the dead of winter. Our students with disabilities deserve a safe school where they have access to nurses, mental health professionals, and well trained staff from one end of the building to the next.  

After only a little over two weeks in the traditional calendar semester, I can say that this isn’t always our reality. I’ve been on the phone with my son’s school already this year and all I can hope is that things get better from here, but experience tells me that it isn’t always the case.

Yet, I have no plan B. The choices were made by our legislators when they chose to ignore the needs of our public schools. Our legislators have responsibilities to the children of our state. By putting money into private school vouchers, they’re avoiding their responsibility. As public school parents, we must hold them accountable. I personally have no other choice.