Commentary

First School Choice Program of 2005

Utah’s first. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. today signed the Carson Smith Scholarships for Students With Special Needs Act. The first school choice program to be enacted in 2005 authorizes the distribution of scholarships for Utah’s special needs children to attend private schools. For more info. go to Alliance for School Choice. According to Education Week: The Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarships legislation would provide $1.4 million in voucher money to help parents of students with disabilities send their children to private schools, both secular and religious, that place particular emphasis on helping such students. About 50,000 students in the state would qualify for the scholarships, Ms. Peterson said, but only a few hundred would be able to receive the funding under the current amount of money allotted for the program. Students with disabilities that range from brain injury to speech or language impairments would be able to apply for the scholarships, which could pay out nearly $5,500 per student annually.