These private schools will be Tennessee’s first to accept special education vouchers

The Tennessee Department of Education has named the first private schools eligible to accept taxpayer money to educate students with disabilities under a new state voucher program:

  • Academy for Academic Excellence in Clarksville;
  • Bachman Academy in McDonald;
  • Gateway Academy Learning Labs in Nashville and Brentwood;
  • Madonna Learning Center in Germantown;
  • Saint Ann School in Nashville;
  • Skyuka Hall in Chattanooga

The schools will participate in a program that allows parents of students with disabilities to receive public money for private services such as home-schooling, private school tuition and tutoring. Leaders for the schools met the Nov. 1 application deadline for the program, which was created by a 2014 state law called the Individualized Education Act (IEA).

Under the voucher program, families with a child with eligible disabilities can receive an average of $6,000 annually in a special savings account. State officials reported Wednesday that 130 families applied to participate during the upcoming semester, representing less than 1 percent of the 20,000 students eligible statewide. The final number of participants might be even lower, as application materials are reviewed.

All along, state education officials predicted low family participation. That’s because the $6,000 voucher falls far short of the $16,000 average cost of educating students with disabilities. Families who opt in must waive their federal rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mandates that all students receive a “free and appropriate” public education.

Disabilities covered include autism, deaf-blindness, hearing impairments, and intellectual and physical disabilities.

Although the special education vouchers mark an unprecedented use of public dollars toward private schooling in Tennessee, the program has received little public opposition or fanfare. By contrast, a proposal for the state to provide tuition vouchers to low-income students has been hotly contested in the legislature in recent years, stalling for three years in the House of Representatives.

There is no cap on the number of students who can participate in the disabilities program, but applications are closed for the inaugural term. For the 2017-18 school year, applications will be accepted early next year.

More information about the Individualized Education Accounts, including resources for parents, can be found on the Department of Education’s website.