Study: Charters Edge Neighborhood Schools in Special Education

As charter schools continue to proliferate across the country, a new study finds that they are offering benefits for students with disabilities.

In a report out this week, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University compared the performance of students at charters with that of students attending traditional public schools in 25 states, the District of Columbia and in New York City. The analysis is an update to a similar report issued in 2009.

Report: NYS Defies Charter School Trend of Under-Enrolling Special-Needs Students

A fresh examination of special education enrollment patterns in New York State suggests that charter schools may be doing better at enrolling students with special needs than many believe.
These findings are relevant for Washington state as policy makers consider how to best implement Initiative 1240 to allow charter schools, which appears to have been approved by voters in the most recent election.
The issue of charter schools and special-needs students arises in part from a federal report that said, at the national level, charter schools enroll fewer students than schools run by districts.

The Damage Done By Special Ed Disaparities

From John Thompson on the Huff Post's Education Blog.

The recent GAO report, "Charter Schools: Additional Federal Attention Needed to Help Protect Access for Students with Disabilities," could help us understand why well-intentioned school "reforms" have done so much harm to the children that they were designed to help. The problem is not special education students. The problem is not charter schools. The problem is the refusal to acknowledge what would have been necessary to help schools with extreme concentrations of traumatized children as they had to serve even greater numbers of students with disabilities left behind in an age of choice.

Opinion: Specialization, Not Segregation, for Special Needs Students in New Jersey

Guest column by Michele Adubato, the founder of New Jersey's first charter school for students with autism.

"Segregation" is an ugly word typically associated with forced separation, harking back to a terrible time in our country’s history. Now, the word is being used by organizations seeking to stop the first charter school in New Jersey serving children with special needs.
Ironically, opponents say the school would discriminate against "nonautistic" students. I've got one thing to say to them: "Are you kidding me?"
As the founder of what will be New Jersey’s first charter school for children with autism spectrum disorders and pervasive developmental disabilities, I am offended by the use of the word "segregation" to describe the placement of children in schools designed to serve their special needs.

School Provides Special Attention to Students With Special Needs

HILLSBORO, Oregon -- A week before school started, Bryce Poehlitz was a little worried about the "fat hallways" as he toured South Meadows Middle School.
True, they are fatter than at his previous school, but it wasn't the size of the hallways that concerned Bryce. It was the number of students he predicted would fill them.
The 13-year-old doesn't like crowds, commotion and noise. When you've got autism, those things can be more than overwhelming.
The first day of school is nerve-wracking for most kids, but it's often especially tough on children with special needs.

Age-Old Problem, Perpetually Absent Solution: Fitting Special Education to Students' Needs

As we gear up for the start of the school year, here is an interesting piece from Jay Mathews, an education reporter for The Washington Post. His assessment of the entire special education experience seems totally on target. Why do schools insist that a child fits into their program? Shouldn't the program be altered to fit the child's unique needs?

Miguel Landeros is a lanky, well-spoken 12-year-old about to begin seventh grade in Stafford County. He is severely learning disabled, with reading, writing and math skill levels at least two years below his peers, and needs special teaching, according to a licensed clinical psychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore and other specialists.
Last February, Stafford officials refused to accept that evaluation and left him in regular classes. He performed poorly, failing all core subjects. Recently, they promised to give him more specialized services, but not the ones the experts who examined him say he needs.