Students with Disabilities in Charter Schools: What We Now Know

Abstract

School choice is a key feature of the educational reforms that have evolved over the past two decades. It is one of the "market reforms" that were introduced in the late 1980s as part of a broader effort to improve educational outcomes and productivity. School choice can take several forms, such as vouchers or opportunity scholarships, magnet schools, and the focus of this article-charter schools. All of these options are designed to infuse private-sector market forces-specifically, autonomy, competition, and choiceinto public education (Chubb & Moe, 1990). This article provides an overview of the charter school movement in the United States and a synthesis of the findings of the studies that have been conducted for nearly a decade by the University of Maryland in collaboration with the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). The research documents the evolution of charter schools from a somewhat radical reform initiative in a single state to an established program that now exists in 40 states and the District of Columbia. This research focuses specifically on how charter schools have served students with disabilities and the policy issues involved in providing special education in charter schools. The charter school discussion is attended by a great deal of controversy and misunderstanding. For instance, many are not aware that charter schools are public schools or realize that these schools must comply with most of the same federal laws and regulations as traditional public schools. Given that the conversion to charter schools is one of the options specified under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) for failing schools, we must understand the way these schools operate and the issues emerging in regard to educating students with disabilities in this new sector of education.