Homeless students hurt by bill’s defeat

CRITICS often caricature Republicans as greedy and heartless, with little compassion for struggling citizens. The state Senate Education Committee did little to undermine that stereotype when it killed legislation benefiting children who are homeless or suffering from mental illness.

Since 2010, Oklahoma has offered the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship Program to children with special needs, such as autism. The program provides state funds that can be used to pay for a private school designed to meet those students’ needs. It’s been highly successful and allowed creation of an autismcentric private school.

Senate Bill 981, by Sen. A.J. Griffin, R-Guthrie, would have slightly expanded the program to include any “student who has received a mental health or substance abuse disorder diagnosis from a licensed mental health professional and is enrolling in a school with treatment programming for the diagnosis” and students “classified as homeless” under federal law who are “enrolling in a school with programming specifically designated for homeless students.”

This is a common-sense approach to helping children facing severe circumstances. Yet opponents acted as though the sky was falling. One bit of commentary even equated mentally ill children with lefthanded students, as though the needs of the former are indistinguishable from the latter.

Those who doubt homeless children could benefit from the Henry scholarship program need look no further than Positive Tomorrows, an existing private school for homeless children. Along with standard educational services, Positive Tomorrows provides children with clothes, shoes, hygiene products, afterschool programs and even individual birthday parties. Counselors are constantly available to work with children.

Positive Tomorrows survives on charitable donations and serves dozens of children. Yet the school’s president has said it is “forced to turn away children constantly” because of financial limitations.

Allowing homeless children to receive Henry scholarship funds already designated for the education of those children would not increase state costs. But it would provide enormous benefit to those children.

Schools serving children with mental illness would generate comparable benefit, as would those designed for students with substance abuse problems. The families of many of those children cannot afford treatment without something like the Henry scholarship program.

In short, the benefits of SB 981 are immense; the downside is nonexistent. Yet when the bill came up in committee last week, it was defeated 8-6. Seven of the eight opponents were Republicans.

Notably, Sen. Allison Ikley-Freeman, D-Tulsa, was among the supporters. She recently won a special election in a heavily Republican district. Her Republican opponent was a vocal opponent of school choice programs like SB 981 (unlike the previous district officeholder, who supported school choice and easily survived re-election challenges). One wonders if Republicans can connect the dots.

According to legend, upon hearing poor people had no bread to eat, Marie Antoinette responded, “Let them eat cake.” For Republican senators to embrace this attitude toward the plight of homeless and mentally ill children is fiscally irresponsible and morally offensive.