Eight Republicans on an Iowa senate committee have endorsed a plan to send state grants to the parents of special needs students who want to enroll their children in a private rather than a public school.
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That’s Republican Senator Brad Zaun of Urbandale.
Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, says the consolidation of rural schools will accelerate if parents are given state money to pay for private schooling.
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Bill backers estimate there are about 60-thousand special needs students in Iowa. Opponents say it would shift hundreds of millions of tax dollars from public to private schools if each of those students transferred. However, the bill does not require private schools to accept students with an individual education plan because of special circumstances, like a disability or behavior issues.