The Senate education committee Thursday voted to create up to three charter schools to serve children with autism and related disorders.

The vote came after testimony from parents who said their autistic children would benefit from a school where teachers are trained specifically to work with the complicated syndrome.

Linda Drees, of Fort Collins, who has a 12-year-old autistic son, said parents "play the lottery" every year, hoping their child's special education teacher is up to speed on autism.

But the state's special education directors warned that serving autistic children in their own schools will drain the fund that serves all of the state's most handicapped students.

"You will be pitting one disability against another," Littleton Public Schools special education director Lucinda Hundley warned. Hundley represents an organization of school district special education directors.

The vote on SB 130 was 6-2, with Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, and Sen. Evie Hudak, D-Arvada, in opposition. The bill now goes to the appropriations committee.

As introduced by Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, the bill called for a pilot program in which autistic children receive "scholarships" to attend private schools - in effect a voucher program that is a red flag for many educators.

Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, suggested instead that the state establish charter schools that specialize in autism. Spence accepted the idea.

The bill allows the transfer of up to $30,000 per child to the charter schools from the state special education pool. Romer said the money won't drain the fund because school districts are already spending that amount on autistic children.

But Hundley said school districts don't receive that much funding from the state for each autistic child. School districts pick up most of the cost with local funds.

Heath warned that if schools are established for autistic children, parents of children with other disabilities will seek similar benefits.