It looks like Sen. Lisa Wellman (D-Mercer Island), Chair of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, is going to kill the bipartisan bill to help families with special needs children and children in foster care.

The bill, SB 6520, would provide scholarships of up to $15,000 to families of children that are underserved by public schools.  The education-choice scholarships would allow special needs children and children living in foster care to access tutors, online instruction or private school as appropriate to meet their learning needs.

This bill is designed to help children with hearing and sight loss, autism, Downs syndrome, dyslexia and other handicaps.  The bill would also help foster children in state care who live in hope of one day being welcomed into a “forever home” through family adoption.

See my analysis of the bill for a full description.  

The need for this caring legislation is pressing and obvious.  As Senator Wellman said noted last year:

“I’d like to talk to you today about special education in our state. You know I am the Chair of the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee. It’s my responsibility to respond to the needs of children and their parents and families in this very important area.

"Right now I was really shocked to learn that 54 percent of this population is not graduating. That’s terrible…we have 95 percent of our kids in special education have IQ’s that are average or above average. So we should be getting much better results than a 54 percent graduation rate…”

Her analysis is right on the mark.  Full funding and a bold new approach is needed to help this vulnerable population.

Using public funds to help special needs children is not controversial.  The Superintendent of Public Instruction lists accredited private schools, including religious schools, as eligible to receive public money to assist special needs children. 

Funding scholarships for special needs children is popular.  A recent statewide poll showed that 68% of likely voters support state-funded Education Savings Accounts for special needs children.

Tomorrow is the deadline for bills to pass in committee.  Despite attracting Democrat and Republican support, Sen. Wellman has blocked further action on the bill.

In this time of deep division, lawmakers of both parties should be able to come together to help special needs children and foster kids.  Sen. Wellman clearly understand the struggles these children face, and she says she wants to help.  Now she just needs to back up her words with action.