Key Findings

1. Senate Bill 5200 would provide special needs children and children in foster care with up to $15,000 in scholarships to attend private school.

2. SB 5200 would not spend public money; it would create a tax credit for contributions to non-profit organizations that grant these scholarships.

3. The legislature intends this tax credit to enable parents to independently determine which school best meets the education needs of their children.

4. Providing public assistance to private schools for the benefit of children is routine and common.

5. The state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction maintains a list of approved private schools, including religious schools, which currently provide learning services to special needs children with public financing.

6. SB 5200 would add an important educational program to benefit children with special needs and children in foster care.

7. The bill would not cut current state K-12 funding and would have no fiscal impact on state education spending.

Introduction

Many local public schools are not well equipped to provide adequate learning services to special needs children. Yet, because most students are assigned to public schools based on zip code, their families are not always able to access the services their children require to reach their fullest potential.

Often private schools in the same neighborhood provide exactly the kind of individual attention many special needs and foster care children require, but these children are denied access to high-quality services because of Washington’s arbitrary ban on allowing students to use the public funds to which they are entitled to attend a private school.
 

Read the full Legislative Memo here.