Bill to offer Scholarships for Children with Special Needs in S.C.

Hey everyone. Its been a while since I have called upon you, but I wanted to share some info. Our local state house rep. Rex Rice is trying to help out our children by introducing the following bill in South Carolina. Please familiarize yourself and if you agree, contact your local reps and senators and ask for the BILL THAT OFFERS SCHOLARSHIPS to SPECIAL NEEDS children. Again, you can find your reps/senators though the following link

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe.

Thanks everyone and lets pray that if this is God’s way for our children then it will happen! Thanks for being involved and being a part of something bigger than ourselves!!! Love, Tresh

Here is the note we received from from Rep. Rice
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I have had many positive responses to my bill about children with special needs receiving scholarships from the state to have the ability to attend a private school. I am grateful for all of the encouragement that I have heard from so many people about this bill. Several have asked for more information about the bill and I would like to take the opportunity to be able to explain my idea to you.

We first introduced this bill about three years ago and it died as a result of the Department of Education. We have been working on this project ever since to make it stronger and gain support so we will have a better chance this go-round. I plan to reintroduce the bill before the end of session this year so it will be ready for debate come next January.

Basically, the bill will allow children with special needs to have flexibility in where they receive their education. This would not only save the state money, but provide these children with a much better quality educational opportunity, which would benefit the child, their families and their future productivity. It cost our school districts significantly more money to educate these children at much lower standards. Private schools are able to offer these children higher quality education at a much lower cost. I don’t understand how anyone can’t see this as a win-win for our state and the children.

I have discovered a very similar program that has begun in Florida. They call their plan the “McKay Scholarship”. I think this is a great idea and I am currently looking at their methods to see what is working and what is not. Here is the link if you are interested in reading through their bill.

http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch1002/SEC39.HTM&Title=-%3E2004-%3ECh1002-%3ESection%2039#1002.39

I hope that being able to look at the Florida bill will allow you to understand what we are trying to accomplish. Keep your eyes out for my bill over the next couple of weeks (before session ends on May 21st). I will be sure to post the link to mine as soon as it is introduced.

I really encourage all of you to contact your representatives and senators to ask them to support this idea. Our children, especially those with special needs, should not be trapped in schools that aren’t serving their best interests.

In a meeting last year with special needs parents and the state Department of Education a discouraging statement was made about the monumental tasks of training our public school teachers to educated special needs children. This is a prime example of why we should allow children and parents options in their education. We should not tie their hands when we know we are not offering them what they deserve.

If you have any questions or concerns about the bill, feel free to call me or shoot me a message.

Thanks for all of your support,

Rex
864-616-5657