Charter Schools and Special Education Services: Ensuring Access and Quality

Charter schools, a relatively recent addition to the public education landscape, have sparked considerable interest and debate. These schools of choice offer families alternative educational options, but questions often arise regarding their accessibility and the quality of special education services they provide. This article aims to address these concerns by exploring the legal framework, funding mechanisms, and practical considerations surrounding special education in charter schools.

Understanding Charter Schools

Charter schools are public elementary and secondary schools, operating under a charter or contract that grants them a degree of autonomy in exchange for accountability. They have existed in the United States since 1991, with a significant presence across the nation. As of the 2010-2011 school year, there were 5,275 authorized charter schools nationwide. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have laws authorizing and governing charter schools. These schools are founded for various reasons, including the desire to realize an educational vision, gain autonomy, or serve a specific population. Families choose charter schools for their perceived benefits, such as high academic standards, small class sizes, and innovative teaching approaches. On average, charter schools serve about 300 students.

Legal Obligations and Responsibilities

Charter schools, like all public schools, are bound by federal laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This means they have the same responsibility to make a free appropriate public education (FAPE) available to all students with disabilities.

The specific responsibilities for special education services in a charter school depend on its legal identification within the state. If a charter school is considered an independent Local Education Agency (LEA), it bears the same legal requirements for providing special education services as any other LEA. If a charter school is part of an existing LEA, the LEA retains most or all of the responsibility for special education in the charter school.

Funding Special Education in Charter Schools

Charter schools are primarily funded by a combination of federal, state, and sometimes local funding, based on student enrollment. The flow of funding for special education varies based on the LEA status of the charter school.

If the charter school is an LEA, federal and state funding for students with disabilities flows directly from the state to the school. If the charter school is a school within a traditional LEA, the funding flow varies by state and depends on the specific arrangement between the charter school and the district. In this case, the district retains responsibility for special education, but the way services are provided can range from LEA staff delivering all services within the charter school to the charter school arranging all services and being reimbursed by the LEA.

Louisiana stands out as an exception, providing different levels of funding to charter schools in New Orleans based on the severity of students’ disabilities.

Enrollment Preferences and Compliance

The act allows a district charter school or an institute charter school, upon approval of the authorizing school district board of education or the state charter school institute (CSI), respectively, to develop and administer an enrollment preference plan to give enrollment preference to children with disabilities. In exercising the enrollment preference plan for children with disabilities, a district charter school and an institute charter school shall ensure compliance with the obligation to provide a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment pursuant to the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act".

Special Education Services Provision

Charter schools are responsible for implementing a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) as soon as possible after its development. The school district of residence must provide the charter school with the necessary student records and information to facilitate IEP implementation.

A charter school is not required to choose between having all IEP services provided by the school district of residence or having all services provided by the charter school. They can arrange for services to be provided directly, through contracts, or by the school district of residence. Both the school district of residence, as the LEA, and the charter school are legally obligated to ensure that the charter school student receives a FAPE in accordance with their IEP. Therefore, if the charter school requests that the school district provide special education and/or related services recommended in the IEP, the school district must cooperate in making arrangements to deliver such services.

If a student's IEP recommends a self-contained special education class, resource room, or other services that can be delivered at the charter school and would enable the student to participate in the charter school's programs and services for some portion of the school day, the charter school is required to implement the IEP and arrange to have such services provided to the student. The charter school has the option of providing the special education programs directly or by contract, or arranging to have such services provided by the school district. If the charter school requests that the school district provide a self-contained class or resource room, the charter school and the school district can meet such obligation by placing the student in a self-contained class or resource room operated by the school district at a location other than the charter school, if that is appropriate to the needs of the student. However, if a self-contained class or resource room on the site of the charter school is determined by the school district CSE to be the appropriate placement for the student and the charter school requests that the school district provide such services, the self-contained class or resource room must be provided by the school district. The school district, as LEA, may not withhold services from the student based on a dispute with the charter school over the cost of services or fiscal responsibility for such services. The school district of residence is required to provide the services requested by the charter school and is required under 34 C.F.R. § 300.241 to serve charter school students in the same manner as it serves students with disabilities in other public schools of the school district.

Alternative Administrative Units and Agreements

The act allows the department of education (department) to designate a charter school network or charter school collaborative that meets specified criteria as an administrative unit for the purpose of providing special education services to children with disabilities. If the parents of a child with a disability remove the child from enrollment in the alternative administrative unit in which a district charter school or institute charter school participates after the annual count date to determine state funding for children with disabilities, that alternative administrative unit continues to be deemed the child's administrative unit of residence for the remainder of the school year and may be required to pay the tuition charge for excess costs to the administrative unit of attendance that enrolls the child for the remainder of the school year.

The act allows a district charter school or an institute charter school, upon the department's approval of the administrative unit of a charter school network or charter school collaborative, to enter into an agreement to participate in the existing alternative administrative unit. After the department approves an application for the reorganization of the administrative unit to include the district charter school, the district charter school is required to amend its district charter contract to reflect that the district charter school is participating in the existing alternative administrative unit of the charter school network or charter school collaborative. The act allows a district charter school, upon approval of the CSI, to enter into an agreement with the CSI to participate in the CSI's administrative unit. The act specifies that a charter school collaborative may provide special education and related services to participating schools as authorized by the contract creating the charter school collaborative.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite the legal mandates and efforts to provide special education services in charter schools, challenges remain. A report by the Center for Learner Equity concluded that charter schools, on the whole, do not outperform their district-run counterparts in providing high-quality special education services. The report highlighted a lack of clear and widely accepted standards for defining success for students with disabilities, as well as funding systems that were not designed to support special education services in independent charter schools.

However, there are also examples of success. Washington state charter schools, for instance, enroll a higher percentage of students with disabilities than traditional district schools, place almost all of them in general education classrooms, and, in instances where data is available, see bigger learning gains.

Read also: What are charter schools?

Key Considerations for Families and Educators

Families and educators of students with disabilities should consider the following when evaluating charter schools:

LEA Status: Determine whether the charter school is an independent LEA or part of an existing LEA, as this will impact the responsibilities for special education services.
Service Provision: Understand how the charter school provides special education services, whether directly, through contracts, or in collaboration with the school district of residence.
IEP Implementation: Ensure that the charter school has a plan for implementing the student's IEP and can provide the necessary services and supports.
Funding: Inquire about the charter school's funding for special education and how it ensures that students with disabilities receive adequate resources.
Outcomes: Research the charter school's outcomes for students with disabilities, including academic progress, graduation rates, and post-secondary success.

Transportation and Teacher Certification

In some states, charter schools are responsible for providing transportation to and from school. State charter laws control local certification requirements. Some states require all charter school teachers to be certified, while others have more complicated rules.

Confidentiality of Student Records

The charter school must maintain full confidentiality of records in accordance with IDEA and FERPA and the federal regulations implementing such statutes (34 C.F.R. §§ 300.560-300.577; 34 C.F.R.

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