Archived Information

Introduction

Few reforms in American education can boast the diversity of support that the charter school movement can, or claim such rapid and widespread implementation. With the backing of conservative and progressive policymakers, more than half the states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have passed charter school legislation, and the number of charter schools nationwide now exceeds 700. In his 1997 State of the Union message, President Clinton called for 3,000 charter schools by the year 2000. The charter school movement?s success stems from the opportunities it provides, at least in principle, for unfettered site-based management, instructional and other innovations, school choice, specialized services to specific populations, and public accountability.

To be successful in educating all students, charter school operators must address a variety of issues related to special education, including equitable enrollment of students with disabilities, determination of special education eligibility, provision of educational and related services, assessment and reporting of student progress, sustained supply of certified teachers and related service providers, special transportation when needed, and administration of due process. In determining how to address these issues, charter school operators are variously affected by broad issues that are germane across the charter school community, such as the degree of autonomy of the individual school, financial considerations, the school operators? level of legal and business expertise, relationships with local districts and state departments, and accountability demands (Education Commission of the States, 1995).

To provide background information for our study of charter schools and students with disabilities, we have reviewed existing information and prepared a brief narrative summary and an annotated bibliography. In this paper, we provide a summary of existing research data and of the policy-relevant analyses that have focused on charter schools and students with disabilities. Our purpose is not to evaluate previous research but to summarize it. We have not reviewed the researchers? methods in depth and cannot substantiate the validity of reported data. We are aware that some of the work we describe here was conducted or sponsored by individuals and organizations that have previously taken strong positions regarding charter schools. Nevertheless, reviewing available data serves our need for background information for our study. We do not draw conclusions based on the available data, because we have not closely examined research methods.

Overall, the available data are far from comprehensive. In fact, in most areas they are scant. The sections below summarize the information that was available at the end of 1997. We attach the annotated bibliography as an appendix.¹

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