Every child is important, but school systems are really designed for most students. If a child falls outside of some comfortable norm,  mean or average, most school systems have a hard time meeting their needs. Good business practice argues for leaving the hard to serve customer to providers who can serve them well and efficiently. Many school systems have a hard time doing either with students who have any kind of special needs.

Hence, the interest of legislators and parents in providing for these childrens' education with vouchers. Hence, a growing private interest in businesses that are not perceived to compete with districts. But vouchers here are without doubt considered the leading edge of a more general move by voucher advocates, teachers unions and school districts.

Moreover, this could be the next SES for investors, in that success requires the cooperation of school districts. So far, districts have shown a tremendous interest in being the source of all k-12 business revenues - even though they might decide to outsource any given activity

The large numbers of students with some kind of special needs designation include many who are more of a behaviorial problem than the victime of a bona fide disability. If vouchers become the way to educate students with special needs, expect the redesignation of a huge numbers of students and so a smaller market than might be represented in a business plan.  On the other hand, if districts can be led to the conclusion that outsorcing is cost-effective, it might be a very good business.

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More than half a dozen states are considering legislation to offer private school vouchers for students with disabilities…. They are looking to join the ranks of four others—Arizona, Florida, Ohio, and Utah—that already offer that school choice option…. Supporters say that such vouchers are an important safety valve for parents when public schools don’t offer programs to meet those students’ specialized needs….

But opponents… argue that vouchers for students with disabilities lay the groundwork for universal voucher programs that would drain money from public education—and point to Utah’s experience as an example…. [T]he2-year-old Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship entitles students with disabilities to receive up to $6,042 a year for private school tuition. Utah’s governor… signed into law a measure making vouchers available to all students in the state, though the program is expected to face legal challenges….

Some states are further along in the process. In Georgia, the Special Needs Scholarship Act passed the Senate in January and is under consideration by the House. Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, one of the sponsors, predicts a close vote for the program, which would offer students a scholarship equal to the cost of the educational program the student would have received in public school….

And even in states that offer such voucher programs, public schools may offer attractive options for parents of children with disabilities. Ohio’s 2-year-old scholarship program for students with autism provides up to $20,000 for educational expenses, but Jennifer Brown, an outreach coordinator based at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, often tells parents to start with their local school district…. “Most often, my advice is that their local school district is their best resource,” she said. “Public schools have been doing this for a long time.”

Christina A. Samuels, Education Week, March 26.