|
Charter
Schools: The Ins and Outs
A Bridges4Kids Exclusive
by Calvin & Tricia Luker
For more articles on disabilities and special ed visit
www.bridges4kids.org.
A charter school is a public school created by
a formal agreement (charter) between an individual or group of
individuals and a local school district, state or independent
governing board. Authorizing legislation varies from state to
state but in general, charter schools governing boards are
granted increased autonomy through either blanket exemptions
from most state education regulations and local school
district rules or the ability to apply for waivers from such
requirements.
In exchange, charter schools are expected to meet certain
accountability requirements specified in the charter. The
general idea is to give charter schools the flexibility to try
innovative and experimental ways of educating children while
holding them accountable for results.
Depending on the state, charter schools can be organized by
parents, teachers, existing public schools, nonprofit
agencies, for-profit companies and even private schools. A key
component of the concept is to put pressure on the regular
public school system to change and improve by allowing someone
other than the local school district to provide public
education.
Charter schools are not exempt from the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], Section 504 or the
Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]. But how these laws
apply is open to debate. On a purely statutory level, charter
schools are public schools, and no state has the authority to
grant waivers of the IDEA or federal antidiscrimination
statutes such as Section 504 or the ADA to charter schools or
any other public schools.
Many, if not most, charter schools may even have a greater
responsibility under the IDEA and Section 504 than the
traditional public school. Michigan allows charter schools to
be legally autonomous agencies, often structured as nonprofit
corporations. In Michigan, autonomy from the local school
district is optional.
By defining a charter school in a way similar to that of a
local education agency they imposed on themselves the
obligations of the local educational agency under the IDEA,
rather than the obligations of an individual public school.
Individual public schools are not responsible for the
provision of a free appropriate public education [FAPE] under
the IDEA; rather, it is the LEA, which in most cases means the
local school district and the state. That means that
requirements normally met by school districts -- child find,
evaluation, IEP development, specialized instruction and
related services, transition services, transportation, etc. --
may become the duty of an independently operated charter
school, which in most cases are small and have tight budgets.
Many small school districts -- and many charter schools --
address that problem by pooling resources with other districts
or schools to offer services at a regional level, but that
could raise another potential problem under nondiscrimination
provisions of Section 504 and the ADA.
Under those laws, a unique educational program that draws from
a large geographic area -- whether it's a magnet school, a
cosmetology program, a vocational/technical school, an elite
academic program or a charter school -- probably cannot simply
send a student with disabilities to another school if that
school lacks its unique focus or emphasis. To do so could deny
the student equal access to the unique program.
As a result, a unique program usually must serve a wider range
of students with disabilities than a typical public school
would. A charter school that claims to offer a unique,
different or better program -- as every charter school does --
probably must serve any student with disabilities, unless that
student needs to be educated in a self-contained school for
students having similar needs.
And while it may be costly to meet that obligation --
particularly for an autonomous charter school that may be
struggling just to pay its rent -- it's unclear whether public
schools can invoke the "unfair burden" exception available to
employers under Section 504 and the ADA.
Charter school administrators must understand the nature of
the obligation Section 504 imposes on all LEAs -- a FAPE
obligation similar to the IDEA's, but applicable to a much
wider range of students. LEA's can't claim undue hardship when
it comes to accommodating kids with disabilities in regular
school activities.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]
guarantees special education services to children/adolescents
who qualify for service under a variety of disabling
conditions, including learning disabilities, behavior
disorders, and emotional disabilities. As special education
law currently stands, students with attention disorders do
qualify for special education services, at least in some cases
where their condition is relatively severe and persistent. A
student who has been medically diagnosed as having ADHD may be
disabled under Special Education Rules. However, the student
must meet the eligibility criteria for a specific category
(the most likely possibilities are the categories of
"emotionally impaired," "learning disabled" or "physically or
otherwise health impaired").
Many parents are seeking services for their students who have
ADHD by using Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
To qualify under Section 504, your child must demonstrate a
physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a
major life activity (usually learning). A medical diagnosis of
ADHD does not guarantee eligibility under either law.
IDEA and Section 504 requires that an LEA evaluate any person
who, because of disability, needs or is believed to need
special education or related services. The formal evaluation
should help you and the school to get a better understanding
of your children's learning difficulties. The results of your
children's evaluations can help determine the best learning
arrangements for him and how to help them learn strategies to
deal with symptoms of his disability. I encourage you to make
a written request to the charter school administrator for an
evaluation. I am enclosing a sample letter for your
convenience.
|
