Students with Disabilities in Charter Schools: What We Now Know

Disability, Race, and the Geography of School Choice: Toward an Intersectional Analytical Framework

“…Parents can also decide to enroll in a charter school and disregard the placement offered by the IEP team. In this latter case, the SWDs would need to be accepted through a lottery system, and a new IEP team would form if the parent wants to still receive services; some parents move to a charter school to avoid the disability label given in the traditional school (Rhim & McLaughlin, 2007).…”

School choice or the politics of desperation? Black and Latinx parents of students with dis/abilities selecting charter schools in Chicago

“…These inequities have resulted in several court cases against charter schools for not following federal regulations protecting students with dis/abilities (e.g., Southern Poverty Law Center v. Pastorek, 2010). In contrast to these findings, survey research suggests some parents of students with dis/abilities choose charter schools due to their small class size, parents' perceptions of special education services at the charter school, dissatisfaction with a prior school, and to avoid identification for special education and subsequent segregation (Lange & Lehr, 2000;Rhim & McLaughlin, 2007). …”

Playing hopscotch in inclusive education reform: examining promises and limitations of policy and practice in the US

“…In regards to redistribution of quality and equitable opportunities to learn for students with (dis)abilities, the impact of standard and accountability‐driven policies has been mixed (Rhim and McLaughlin, ). On the one hand, accountability measures have ensured school districts take seriously the inclusion of students with (dis)abilities in the general education classroom, state assessments and exposure to the general education curriculum.…”

“…Any student in the district can apply for admission, and they accept students using a lottery system. Though they are subject to federal laws that prohibit discrimination on the bases of race, class, disability and language, they are exempt from most state laws (for example, requirements to adopt a particular curriculum; Rhim and McLaughlin, ). The expansion of charter schools is noteworthy.…”

“…This may indicate that some charter schools are successful when including special education students. A few case studies have supported this claim (see Quach, ; Rhim and Brinson, ); however, in general, charter schools' administrators have struggled to understand their responsibilities toward students with (dis)abilities, to develop capacity to serve these students, to fulfil accountability requirements while providing services to students with (dis)abilities and to recruit special educators (Rhim and Mclaughlin, ). In light of this information, it is not a far stretch to question whether charter schools' high rates of inclusion indicate these schools' potentials for inclusive education or if students with (dis)abilities are placed in the general education classrooms with little educational supports or transformation of the general education curriculum.…”