Jordan Teuscher wants SpEd students out of public schools

During a recorded Jan 13, 2024 Pre-Legislative town hall, Jordan Teuscher made a statement regarding the 2023 HB215 “Utah Fits All Scholarship” voucher program that was passed despite opposition from teachers and nearly every education organization in Utah. Teuscher says he wants to get special needs students out of public schools.

Here’s the part of the video from the townhall where he says exactly that. The full video is available here, with his comment made after 25 minutes into the video.

Apparently Teuscher doesn’t know much about the disability movement and the battle to move students with disabilities INTO public school systems. It wasn’t until 1975 that the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) was signed. EHA guarantees a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each child with a disability in every state. The 1990 reauthorization changed the law’s name from EHA to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). That’s where IDEA and FAPE come from.

In 1992 Board of Ed v. Rowley case, the Supreme Court concluded that to provide FAPE, a school district must provide access to specialized instruction & related services that provide educational benefit to a child with a disability.

Integrated schools have better outcomes. Students (ALL students) do better when they experience integrated classrooms. Casel studies from as early as the 1960’s point to these improved outcomes.
Link: https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-does-the-research-say/

What Teuscher thinks is a “win-win” is a loss for everyone. His plan is regressive and exclusionary.

I have plenty to say about Sen. Lincoln Fillmore’s comments as well, but later. He says a bunch of stuff that’s either disingenuous, misleading or flat-out wrong. Keep in mind that Sen. Fillmore chairs the Public Education Budget Committee, but intentionally misspeaks.