The State Journal-Register | Springfield, IL
By ANDY BROWNFIELD : Posted Jun 05, 2011
Proposal to allow fees at ISD, ISVI causing a stir :
Legislation that could require parents of blind or deaf children to pay additional school fees is causing a stir amongst advocates for those with special needs.
The proposal is contained in Senate Bill 1802, which passed the General Assembly on May 31, the last day of the spring legislative sessin.
If the measure is signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn, the Illinois School for the Deaf and the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, both in Jacksonville, could charge fees for things like room and board; books, labs and supplies; field trips; and extracurricular activities.
Supporters say the fees could help keep the schools open in the face of severe state budget cuts.
However, the Illinois Special Education Coalition contends that the provision violates federal laws that require states to pay for public school services required by special needs students.
Both schools are public schools.
“The bill takes a specific group of children … and imposes a requirement that is not in place for any other child,” coalition chair Bev Johns said.
Johns called the provision “obvious discrimination.”
The fees would be charged on a sliding scale based on ability to pay, as determined by proof of income submitted by parents at the start of each school year. Families that receive public assistance would not have to pay the fees.
The coalition says the measure violates the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as well as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which require state schools to provide free, appropriate public education.
“We have a federal law that says the education of children with disabilities is supposed to be free, and whatever that child needs … is what is to be provided,” Johns said.
She said she hopes Quinn issues an amendatory veto to erase the provision. A Quinn spokeswoman said the governor will review the proposal when it lands on his desk.
Johns would not comment on whether the coalition would challenge the law in court if it was signed.
The bill’s House sponsor said the fees could be a way to keep the schools open in a climate where the budget for the Department of Human Services faces a $1.1 billion cut.
“None of this is a good situation,” Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, said. “In lieu of shutting down their operation, they were able to come to some agreement on how to keep the doors open and the lights on.”
Feigenholtz said parents, administrators and schools tried to work out an agreement that did “the best for the kids.”
The parents of public school children already pay fees for extracurricular activities, drivers’ education, field trips and athletics. The schools for the blind and deaf are exempt from those fees. The measure will bring them in line with the rest of public schools, Feigenholtz said.
The fees would be charged at the discretion of the schools’ superintendents. Representatives of the schools could not be reached on Friday.
Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, whose district contains ISD and ISVI, said the situation isn’t ideal, but it is more important to keep the schools open.
“When you see what they accomplish, it’s amazing,” Watson said.
Watson said Quinn threatened to close the schools when the House cut his proposed budget’s funding for education – the second time in three years the Quinn administration has said it might close the schools.
“Do I wish we didn’t have to do it (impose fees)? – Absolutely,” Watson said. “To me, it’s more of a reaction to what the administration threatened.”
Andy Brownfield can be reached at 782-3095.
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