Parents respond to state senator’s ‘harmful’ comments about students with disabilities
March 18, 2025
Some Ohio parents are upset about a state senator’s comments about students with disabilities.
The Lakota Local Schools Board of Education held a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss the state’s school voucher system. Ohio Sen. George Lang, who joined the meeting remotely, said he supports the voucher program but thinks it’s unfair to public schools because they have to assume larger costs ‒ for example, costs related to teaching students with disabilities ‒ that private schools don’t.
“We know for a fact that it costs more to teach a student with severe disabilities,” said Lang, a Republican from West Chester. “I’m gonna make a number up, let’s say that cost is $50,000 a year … compared to a student who comes from a family with a loving mom and a loving dad who put education at a high level. It costs a lot less to educate those students.”
Reddit users on an Ohio subReddit said Lang implied students with severe disabilities don’t have loving parents. Lakota Cares, a Lakota Local Schools parents group, called Lang’s comments “deeply troubling and harmful.”
“The comparison between students with disabilities and students from families with ‘loving moms and dads’ is incredibly problematic,” a Friday statement from the group on Facebook read. “It implies that students from different family structures or with disabilities are less worthy of resources, which is simply not true. Every student has unique needs, and it is the responsibility of our education system to provide the support necessary for all students to thrive.”
Lang did not respond to The Enquirer’s multiple calls on Monday. He clarified his comments to Local 12 on Friday.
“Let me be clear that I did not say ‒ or intend to say ‒ that children with disabilities do not come from loving homes,” he told the outlet. “With that said, we have to recognize that every child learns differently and brings unique circumstances to the classroom. As a result, the cost to educate each child will not be the same, but we have a responsibility to provide every student with an equally high-quality education ‒that’s what I’m fighting for.
One of Lakota’s board members declined to comment to The Enquirer about Lang’s remarks; the other four did not respond to the request.
Lakota Local Schools was not able to provide the annual cost for students with disabilities. In 2023, the average cost per student to a school district was around $15,000, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
The discussion about vouchers, which also included Ohio Reps. Jennifer Gross and Thomas Hall, at times became tense. Lakota’s board voted that it was willing to join Vouchers Hurt Ohio, a coalition of over 200 school districts that filed a lawsuit against Ohio over the voucher program.
Lakota, the largest suburban public school district in Southwest Ohio, will join the coalition if the Lakota Education Association also votes to join the lawsuit.
This article was originally published by The Cincinnati Enquirer.