We're sending our daughters to private school this year. It has nothing to do with the teachers. I actually liked their teachers, and I'm good friends with one of them.
I would love to have vouchers. One of my daughters is special needs (brain damaged proved by an MRI). This year, her reading level did not go up like it should and she is now reading about 6 months below grade level. The district will only provide a reading program when she drops 2 years below grade level, even though she has a certifiable disability.
A voucher program would really help special needs parents. They could actually use them to go to a school that is better suited to their kids disability.
Now, my husband and I have to come up with the money to send my daughter to private school, pay for a reading program, and pay for private speech therapy. It will cost around 20K. We have the money this year, but we don't know about next year.
I agree with you 100%--vouchers would be a huge benefit to parents such as yourselves with special needs children. Resource teachers are stretched to the max because these days, if a child is not performing, then it MUST be a learning disability (couldn't possibly be just maturity or lack of effort!). I have been at this for a long time and I have never seen so many kids who have been labled with LDs. As a result, students with real serious needs do not get the attention they require/deserve from PSchools. It's a shame.