OPPOSE PAY FOR SUCCESS IN ESEA

On Tuesday, November 17, 2015, the U.S. House voted to go to Conference Committee with the U.S. Senate on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA  - which used to be called No Child Left Behind) to write a final version of the legislation. 

On November 5, 2015, the Executive Board of the Illinois Council for Exceptional Children voted to oppose the Pay for Success permissive funding that is in both the House Bill (H.R. 5) and in the Senate Bill (S. 1177) to allow the use of Federal funds by States and by local school districts for Pay for Success. 

In Chicago and in Utah, Pay for Success pays investors Goldman Sachs and the Pritzker Family  for each child NOT identified as needing special education. Utah claims a 99% success rate.

• This program creates a disincentive for schools to identify students that need specialized and individualized education. It is a violation of the Federal special education law, IDEA, that mandates schools identify all students in need of special education.

• Pay for Success funding is more like a high interest (to 100% or more) loan than a bond.

• Through this program private investors are paid EACH YEAR if students are not identified as needing special education. It commits school funds to paying private investors for NOT having to provide special education services in the future.

• The annual pay back to investors (escrow payments as well as yearly payments for each student not identified as needing special education services) is exorbitant. As structured in Chicago and Utah, investors would make money, possibly doubling their investment in Pay for Success, forcing schools to use an increasingly large percentage of future local, State and Federal money it receives to provide services to do just the opposite, NOT provide services to students.

There are no objective ways of determining which students may be in need of special education in the future and thus eligible to participate in Pay for Success. 

What can YOU do?
(1) Share this email. Most people are not aware of Pay for Success.
Most people (even in D.C.) are not aware Pay for Success is in both
the House and Senate ESEA bills, and will be in the FINAL ESEA
bill unless a determined effort is made to remove it.
(2) Contact any National organization to which you belong.
Ask them what they are doing about Pay for Success in ESEA.
Ask them if they know what is happening in Utah and in Chicago
on paying investors in Pay for Success for each child NOT identified
for special education.
Ask them is they are aware that Utah claims it is stopping 99 percent
of children at risk of being identified as needing special education
from actually entering special education.
(3) Call U.S. Senators from Illinois Richard Durbin ( 202.224.2152202.224.2152 202.224.2152202.224.2152    202.224.2152202.224.2152 202.224.2152202.224.2152    ) 
and Mark Kirk ( 202-224-2854202-224-2854 202-224-2854202-224-2854    202-224-2854202-224-2854 202-224-2854202-224-2854    ) and your U.S. Representative. 
Ask them to help you get Pay for Success removed from ESEA 
in the Conference Committee on S. 1177.
(4) Share this message with friends/relatives in other States.

Our Senator, Mark Kirk, is a member of ESEA Conference Committee -
Ask Illinois U.S. Senator Mark Kirk to make a motion in Conference Committee to remove Pay for Success from S. 1177. Contact Kirk immediately  at 
http://www.kirk.senate.gov/?p=federal_agency_help 
or by calling (call no later than Thursday morning)  202-224-2854202-224-2854 202-224-2854202-224-2854  .

Pay for Success is being used in Chicago to pay Goldman Sachs
and the Pritzkers $9,100 for each child NOT being identified for
special education.   S. 1177 would allow the use of Federal funds
for Pay for Success. Please REMOVE that provision.  Parents and 
children do NOT need anyone making it more difficult to get needed 
special ed services. 

Bev Johns, Chair
Governmental Relations Committee
Illinois Council for Exceptional Children (Illinois CEC)