Released on: September 8, 2008, 2:00 pm

Press Release Author: Mel Anderson / Parents for Choice in Education

Industry: Education

Press Release Summary: Parents for Choice in Education claims that the Woodland
Hills incident proves that the Carson Smith Scholarship program holds private
schools accountable through mechanisms of free market principles.

Press Release Body: Woodland Hills, a private school previously dedicated to serving
students with Asperger’s syndrome and other special needs, has come under scrutiny
due to allegations of grave mismanagement. Several recipients of the Carson Smith
Scholarship attended the school last year. The Carson Smith Special Needs
Scholarship provides limited tuition assistance to students that have a disability
and gives parents the opportunity to choose an educational setting that they believe
will best fit their child’s specific needs.

The results of a mandatory audit released in 2008 by the Office of the Utah
Legislative Auditor General found that 100% of the parents involved with the Carson
Smith Scholarship program think that the program should continue to exist for
eligible students and 91% felt that their child’s academic performance increased
while at a private school. The Carson Smith Scholarship for Students with Special
Needs was signed into law in 2005. It has served 700 children. Forty-six private
schools within 13 school districts are currently eligible to participate in the
program. http://www.le.state.ut.us/audit/08_02rpt.pdf

Travis Rawlings, the Utah State Office of Education Specialist over the program,
states, “Fifty-one Carson Smith Scholarship recipients were enrolled at Woodland
Hills for the 2007-2008 school year. By the end of the last term, just thirty-three
of these students were still enrolled. Only four scholarship recipients returned
this fall and three of these students are planning to transfer soon.”

Judi Clark, director of Parents for Choice in Education, remarked, “Parents of these
students recognized problems and the majority had already transferred their children
before the school’s mismanagement was even exposed. From this unfortunate situation,
comes proof that parent empowerment really works. The Carson Smith Special Needs
Scholarship empowers parents by providing them with the flexibility to act on a
situation quickly and without unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. When parents
determined that this particular school was no longer meeting their child’s needs,
they were able to end payments and chose a school that would. The Woodland Hills
situation is an isolated incident that the parents were able to assess and resolve
on their own, demonstrating that market principles work. Simply put, if you aren’t
serving the needs of your customers, you will lose them.”

Parents for Choice in Education is a local grass-roots organization dedicated to
ensuring that every child has equal access to a quality education by empowering
parents, increasing choice, and promoting innovative solutions to Utah’s educational
challenges.

For real stories about how the Carson Smith Scholarship has positively affected the
lives of special needs children, contact Ms. Mel Anderson at (801) 532-1448 or visit
www.ChoiceInEducation.org.

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Web Site: http://choiceineducation.org/index.php

Contact Details: Ms. Mel Anderson
Parents for Choice in Education
(801) 556-6191 cell
(801) 532-1448 office
(801) 433-1443 fax
mel@choiceineducation.org
www.ChoiceInEducation.org

124 South 400 East Suite 230
Salt Lake City, UT 84111