CT Mirror

Federal education policy cast a long shadow at the annual Special Education Equity for Kids in Connecticut conference Friday. The event’s two keynote speakers, attorney Matt Cohen of Chicago and University of Connecticut professor Preston Green III, spoke in grave terms to a packed house at Wesleyan University about the danger they believe the Trump administration poses to public education — and, by extension, special education. “As public education goes, guess what? Special education goes, too,” Cohen told the audience. Topping their list of threats: the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, which turns federal dollars into scholarships for students. Those scholarships can cover a wide range of expenses — private school tuition, for example, or afterschool tutoring — but only if a state’s governor opts in. Gov. Ned Lamont has not yet indicated whether he will. His Republican opponent, Ryan Fazio, has called the program a “win-win.” Proponents of school choice, and particularly of private school voucher programs, tend to support the FSTC, which brings federal dollars into what has until now been a state-by-state effort. Conversely, leaders with the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents and the state’s teachers’ unions have been critical of the program. They argue the scholarships lack oversight, exacerbate inequality and will likely prompt cuts to other federal education programs. 

Now, prominent special education advocates — including attorneys parents hire to spar with teachers and school administrators over Individualized Education Programs — are joining the latter in agreement.