Bart, You said:

"No one who who has ever had a child with a disability would ever suggest that he or she be left behind. And don't fool yourself - that is what you are suggesting we do." And some other less than flattering things. Even though you admit knowing nothing about me.

Please go back and re-read what I said. I do not advocate leaving anyone behind. I advocate letting those that can go ahead, and not be held back. There is a huge difference.

Forcing children to remain in a failed school system DOES hold kids back - disability or no - so consider this: We all want the best education for the children, right? If government schools are failing, how do we fix it? We can throw more and more money at it, and hope for the best. We can write reams of new laws and regulations, and patiently wait while they are implemented, and hope for the best. This is the failed approach we have been taking for 30 years. This is why the government schools are in the condition we now find them.

OR, we can force improvement with competition from private schools. Competition will force the government schools to compete for students by fixing the things that are wrong. If they did that, there would be no need for people to look to private schools to educate their children. All of us would be happy with government schools if they were getting the job done - but they are not, in many cases.

There is more than one way to skin a cat (with apologies to PETA), and the way we have tried to fix the school system for so long has failed, and is holding children back.

If your concept of private schools is based on the assumption that they are all racist and anti-handicapped, then you are badly mistaken. That is the idea pushed by the big-government elite. I have sent my children to both public and private school, and the difference in quality of education was shocking - the private school was far and away the better choice.

You also said: "I think you're right about Bush Jr. There is not enough "noblesse" there"

Perhaps you don't know anything about Bush Jr. either - except what you get from the media.