House Bill 3393, which would create the Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program, is currently in committee, but is expected to be voted out by next week, paving the way to Gov. C. Brad Henry's desk. The scholarship program would qualify students with disabilities (i.e. Down's syndrome, autism, etc.) who are on an IEP for a scholarship to attend any public or private school that meets the accreditation requirements of the State Board of Education.

"Oklahoma would not be breaking new ground with this law but would still be one of the more advanced states when it comes to serving children with special needs,” said Richard Komer, senior attorney at the Virginia-based Institute for Justice, in a recent article. "There are already five other states with similar scholarship programs that [sic] so clearly constitutional that no one has even tried to challenge them under the federal constitution."

The bill is similar to laws already passed in both Florida and Georgia. Now if only we could expand this to a national level...