It’s official. Over the past several years the fissure in the educational system in North Carolina has widened, leaving special-needs children with the highest potential of falling through the academic cracks.
In 2002, Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr. found public schools in the state were falling short in their efforts to help disadvantaged students.
In 2005 Manning confirmed the same findings. Manning denounced low-scoring high schools around North Carolina for committing “academic genocide” against at-risk students. Although Manning beckoned educators to fix the problem, he did not offer any solid solutions to the problem.
Roger Gerber, president of North Carolina School Choice, says that without a free, open-market competition, including vouchers or other creative choices, public schools will continue to commit this type of “educational malpractice.”
“This is a dance with the devil,“ he said. “I thought the voucher movement was dead, but we have to revive the voucher bill or the tuition tax credit. We need some kind of reform to make public schools stand up and pay attention. We need to empower the parents and create a system where good schools are rewarded for turning out good students. It’s worked in everything else, but it’s not even been tried in North Carolina.”
A revolution in education may be the only hope left for special-needs children. In 2004, the North Carolina Association of School Administrators said it could not meet the needs of special-needs children.
“(No Child Left Behind) expects all students within a school or school system to achieve the same level of proficiency, despite their limitations or special needs, including those who have Individualized Education Plans or who speak English as a second language,” they wrote of some of the difficulties in their efforts to implement and comply with the mandates of the law. “ This expectation in reality sets difficult, if not impossible, achievement levels for too many special-needs students.”
These same educators continue to decry the idea of free choice in education as bias programs allowing only the best or brightest students to attend.
A study conducted by David Salisbury, director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, debunks this myth.
The study found that more than 2,500 private schools throughout the United States are serving more than 100,000 special-needs children. Most private schools not only accept children with physical, behavioral, emotional, or learning problems, but they also go the extra mile, by using innovative, scientifically based programs that are more effective at helping children, Salisbury said.
The Cato study also cited testimonials from parents who thought their children had a “positive turnaround” who are receiving individualized attention in their new schools. “ In many cases, those children were not receiving the same degree of help in their public schools, even though their educational plans prescribed it,” Salisbury’s research showed.
North Carolina charter schools have already proven they work for special-needs children, Gerber said. “I know for a fact that charter schools have been popular with special-needs students,” he said. “A lot of charter schools have had more success and been able to cater to their needs better.”
Currently, however, only 100 charter schools are allowed to operate in the state at one time. The cap on charter schools is maxed out, leaving many counties across North Carolina without any options.
Sen. Eddie Goodall, R-Mecklenburg, is trying to change the constraints. He introduced Senate Bill 213 in Raleigh at the beginning of the year asking government officials to remove the limit on charter schools.
An article in The Free Lance-Star, in Fredericksburg, Va., found many countries in Europe have successfully used school choice for years. “Americans should learn from these examples and study evidence before accepting claims that school choice doesn’t help poor families, creates segregation, or harms public schools,” the article said. “The experiences of other countries show that choice has beneficial effects all around—especially if public schools are given increased autonomy and flexibility.”
Manning’s report concluded that major reforms are needed to help turn around North Carolina’s educational system. To date, however, the judge said there appears to be no tangible plan in place to fix the problems, leaving many at-risk children shortchanged.
Gerber said there is hope, if these same families demand viable alternatives from the government. One option, he said, is “education stamps.” They would serve the same purpose as food stamps, allowing parents of students to shop for their school of choice. He said this would provide healthy competition, likely clean up the learning environment, and help the many at-risk students attending the lacking schools.
Karen Welsh is a contributing editor of Carolina Journal.