Special Education and Charter Schools: The Authorizers Role

1
Special Education and Charter Schools The
Authorizers Role

• Lauren Morando Rhim, University of Maryland
• Preston Green, Pennsylvania State University
• Paul ONeill, Edison Schools Inc.,
• Paul Haubrich, University of Wisconsin, Parkside

2
Research on Special Education

• Project SEARCH
• www.nasdse.org/project_search.htm
• SPEDTACS www.edgateway.net/specialedprimers
• Project Intersect
• www.education.umd.edu/EDSP/Projectintersect

3
Special Education in the Charter Sector

• Nearly a decade of research has predicted-- and
  subsequently confirmed--challenges associated
  with providing special education and related
  services in the charter sector
• Challenges occur at both the policy-level and at
  the implementation-level
• Charter authorizers and operators struggle to
  navigate policy issues while negotiating day to
  day implementation issues

4
Policy Issues

• Research has documented fundamental policy
  tensions associated with implementing special
  education in the charter school sector
• Autonomy and Regulation
• Parental Choice and Team Decision-Making
• Legal Identity

5
Implementation Issues

• Policy tensions shape practiceauthorizers and
  operators struggle to implement requirements
  outlined in federal and state special education
  statutes. Factors that influence implementation
• Knowledge gap
• Linkage to a local education agency
• Charter school characteristics
• Authorizer characteristics
• State Education Agency role

6
Project Intersect Survey of Charter School
Authorizers (Spring 2004)

• 692 charter schools surveyed
• Electronic (Zoomerang) and paper-pencil format
• 452 responses (65)
• Random probability sample generalizable to
  population
• Test for bias associated with non-respondents
  revealed no apparent bias according to type or
  experience of non-responding authorizers

7
Project Intersect Authorizer Survey Preliminary
Findings

• 692 Authorizers
• Local education agency (LEA) 90
• Institution of higher ed. (IHE) 5
• State education agencies (SEA) 3
• Other 2

8
Project Intersect Authorizer Survey Preliminary
Findings

• Authorizer Experience in Years
• Five or more years 20
• Two to five years 47
• One to two years 20
• Less than one year 13
• Authorizer Experience in of Schools Authorized
• Range 1- 350 schools
• Average is 6 schools
• Mode is 1 school (51 of all authorizers have
  only authorized a single school)
• Top five authorizers have authorized 35 of all
  charter schools

9
Project Intersect Authorizer Survey Preliminary
Findings

• Less than half (43) of the authorizers granting
  charters require more than general information
  (i.e., assurances not to discriminate or minimum
  plan) about special education during the
  application process
• 34 of authorizers identify themselves as the
  primary provider of special education technical
  assistance and training

10
Project Intersect Authorizer Survey Preliminary
Findings

• Legal responsibility related to providing
  special education and related services to
  students with disabilities attending charter
  schools they authorize
• 34 total legal responsibility
• 34 shared legal responsibility
• 21 no legal responsibility
• 11 Do not know or other

11
Project Intersect Authorizer Survey Preliminary
Findings

• Involvement with special education in charter
  schools authorized
• 11 Not involved
• 12 Involved during authorization and renewal
• 31 Provide special education
• 15 Supervise special education
• 21 Work with special education as requested
  by schools
• 9 Other or do not know

12
Project Intersect Authorizer Survey Preliminary
Findings

• 60 reported that a charter schools special
  education record is a required component of the
  charter renewal process
• 8 reported special education records have been a
  factor in revocation