Senator seeks to stop DOJ from investigating private schools for violations of ADA [View all]

[KamaAina]

Guess which party? C'mon, guess.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/06/28/senator-seeks-to-stop-doj-from-investigating-private-schools-for-violations-of-americans-with-disabilities-act/

A Republican senator has inserted language into an appropriations bill that would prohibit the Justice Department from enforcing key provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act at private schools that receive public funds, a measure he said was necessary to protect voucher programs from politically motivated attacks.

The bill — the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act — has not yet passed. But disability-rights advocates are concerned that the amendment submitted last week by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) could make it far more difficult for Justice Department officials to ensure that voucher programs give students with disabilities fair access to private schools.

“That would be a serious concern,” said Karyn L. Rotker, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is home to the nation’s oldest voucher program; in Milwaukee alone, more than 20,000 low-income children receive state-funded vouchers to attend private and religious schools.

“We’re talking about schools that serve tens of thousands of children, and that would not have obligations under the ADA to reasonably accommodate children with disabilities,” Rotker said.