Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program School Information Session

Special Needs Scholarship Program O Florida’s McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program in 1999 was first Special Needs Scholarship. O Scholarship students were bullied far less O Scholarship recipients saw their class sizes drop dramatically, from 25 students per class in public schools to 13 students per class in choice schools. O Scholarship programs expanding nationwide O Now available in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Ohio

Advocates worked for 6 years to create a special needs scholarship for student in Ohio Parent advocates meet with Jon Husted and Jimmy Stewart

Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Passed in June 2011 Named for Jon Peterson O Special education advocate and former state representative O Parent of daughter with special needs O Also helped create Autism Scholarship

Special Needs Scholarship Program O Scholarships are limited to 5% of the students with IEPs in the state (234,000) O An estimated of 11,700 scholarships could be awarded. O Roughly 7,000 students in private schools are on Service Plans now. O Currently 1,544 students were able to apply for the scholarship on the first window. O We don’t anticipate a lottery the first year

Special Needs Scholarship Program O First state scholarship in Ohio funded at the same level as public school students for categories 1-4 O Scholarship cap is at $20,000 which limits equity for students with disabilities in categories 5 and 6

Scholarship Funding per Student Category 1 Speech Category 2 Specific Learning Disability Cognitive disability Other Health impaired minor Category 3 Hearing or Vision Impaired Emotional disability Category 4 Major Health Impaired major Orthopedic Category 5 Multi- handicapped Category 6 Autism, Traumatic Brain Injury Hearing and Vision Impaired $7,196$7,608$14,832$17,902 $20,000

Annual application periods #1 February 1 - April 15: O For scholarships to begin in the next school year (First semester between July 1 and December 31) #2 Mid-year window: October 1st (TBD) - November 15th O For scholarships to begin between January 1 and June 30 (Second semester)

Which students are eligible? O Students that have a finalized IEP from their public school district O Students starting in kindergarten through high school graduation (or age 21) O Students that are attending public school OR private school

“But private school students don’t have IEPs!” O Current private school students who want to use the scholarship need an IEP from their home school district O Home school district has 30 days to create an IEP for the student once request is made O Home school district may chose to convert current service plan/504, OR reevaluate the student to create a new IEP OR use an old IEP O Districts can evaluate a student and create an IEP that does not require services. In this case, the student is not eligible for the scholarship. O IEP must be requested by the time of application (April 15), but doesn’t have to be finalized until June 30

Scholarship Funding for Special Needs O Funding comes from student’s home district O Checks are sent to the provider/school for parent sign-off O Parents are responsible for “budgeting” their scholarship among their choice of providers O If tuition is higher than scholarship, parent pays the additional amount O Funding covers tuition and fees: Create a menu of fees for each service option you plan to provide

O Schools must have a licensed special educator on staff O Oversee the services for scholarship recipients O Can be part-time or full-time O Can be shared by other private- schools Requirements for private schools

O Services do not have to be on the IEP in order to be covered by the scholarship O Not all services listed on the student’s IEP have to be provided Services that can be Covered

Options for parents to find the services they need O Private schools: Direct hire of therapists O Private schools: Subcontracting services O Non-school private providers: approved by ODE Note: Schools can serve a coordinating role, but ultimately up to the parent

Administrative Components O Submit quarterly progress reports for each scholarship recipient O Administer all state assessments (OAAs and OGT) to scholarship recipients O Participate in annual IEP maintenance meetings and process

Application Info O Application process for parents is done through the approved provider or school. O Online monitoring process allows district, parent, and school to be on the same page.

How do I prepare to participate in the scholarship? #1 Check with your school’s accrediting body to see what resources they have available

How do I prepare to participate in the scholarship? #2 Decide on the particular types of student needs you want to concentrate on and the types of services you want to provide

How do I prepare to participate in the scholarship? #3 Make sure you have a licensed special educator person on staff part-time or full time.

How do I prepare to participate in the scholarship? #4 Decide which services you want to provide in-house and which services you want to subcontract O Subcontracted services can be provided on-site or off-site O Develop a fee structure for services

How do I prepare to participate in the scholarship? #5 Survey parents of current students with special needs to see which private therapists and service providers they would like you to hire and/or subcontract with O Contact the therapists/service providers to see if they would like to work with you

How do I prepare to participate in the scholarship? #6 Register as JP Scholarship provider with ODE any time of the year. Currently there are 170 providers State wide that have been approved.

How do I prepare to participate in the scholarship? #7 Begin advertising the scholarship to your families and community School Choice Ohio can share flyers and outreach ideas:

Who do I contact with questions? O Ohio Department of Education ODE administers all state scholarships O School Choice Ohio Outreach ideas/tools Cheryl Bowshier