| Continuing To Provide School Choice To Children With Special Needs
 Finding an educational environment that is a good fit for a special needs child is no easy task. Their needs are very specific and unique. Public schools try their best, and for many children that option is a good fit. However, for many others it is not. Parents should be able to choose the best educational environment for their child in order to help that child progress and flourish. They know their child better than anyone and are best equipped to make those decisions. The great news is that here in Utah parents of children with special needs do have a choice. They can choose a public school or they can choose a private school with the help of the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship.
Because of the great value this program provides to the children of our state, Parents for Choice in Education continually makes it a top priority to protect, improve, promote, and educate the public and lawmakers about the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship.
The Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship 2010 Enrollment Deadline is July 1st
We need your help spreading the word about this school choice program that, according to a mandatory legislative audit, touts 100% participant satisfaction! See HERE.
In order to grow the Carson Smith Scholarship program and make it available to all who wish to participate, we need to build awareness and demand! The program is currently funded to serve approximately 650 students. Each year it fills up to capacity leaving children and parents on a lottery list hopeful they will be chosen to participate in the program. We need to increase demand to such a proportion that the legislature will be forced to increase scholarship funding to levels that will allow any qualifying child desirous to attend the school of their choice to be awarded with a Carson Smith Scholarship.
We encourage parents of children with special needs to learn more about the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship to determine if it is a good option for their child. The scholarship application process is taking place now. In order to receive a full year's scholarship for the 2010-11 school year, applications must be received no later than July 1.
Even though the deadline for the upcoming school year is July 1, applications can be completed and submitted anytime during the year.
Print an application and apply today (links open a PDF document): - Application Form>>
- For assistance, contact Laura Anderson at
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or (801) 637-4111
- Learn more about the scholarship HERE on the PCE website
What We Accomplished During the Legislative Session This Year
 The 2010 legislative session provided a positive first step to strengthening the program. With the help of longtime advocate and Carson Smith program legislative partner, Representative Merlynn Newbold, we were able to secure .9 million in ongoing add-backs to the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship in a year when virtually every program experienced a budget cut. This brought total funding for the program to $3.25 Million.
Our Message to Lawmakers at the 2nd Annual Carson Smith Day at the Legislature
 Parents and students who support the Carson Smith Scholarship joined us at the Capitol during the legislative session to let their legislators know how much this program means to their child and family and to lobby them for funding support.
Our Message - The Executive Appropriations Committee should not cut funding to this program to relieve budget shortfalls; it is counterintuitive. Policymakers should recognize that the cost of a scholarship to the taxpayer is significantly lower than the cost for the student to attend public school, saving the taxpayer dollars. Most importantly, the Carson Smith Scholarship allows Utah families to choose the best education option to fit their child's unique needs. In fact, the recent legislative audit showed 100% satisfaction with the Carson Smith Program.
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