When Management Policies Collide: An Examination of How the Autonomous Intent of Charter School Laws Work with the Rigid Accountability of Idea
In the mere 23 years since the initial legislation creating policy for public charter schools took place in Michigan, 43 of the 50 states have charter school policy included within their state legislation. According to the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, in 2013 2014 there were 6,440 public charter schools and 89,775 traditional public schools in the United States. With the continuous growth of charter schools each year across the country, it seems for the foreseeable future, school choice will be a part of the public school system. A point to consider along side this inevitable demand for choice is the mandated requirement of the public school system to educate students with disabilities in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Reported by the United States Government Accountability Office, in the 2009 2010 school year 42,337,326 (11.2% students with disabilities were served in traditional public schools, while 1,574,985 (8.2% were served in charter schools. How legislation, policy and practice are addressing the requirement to educate students with disabilities in charter schools is quite varied. In a review of the empirical research on students with disabilities and charter schools, several trends were discovered not only in the findings but also in the recommendations. The purpose of this chapter was to examine the results of previous research conducted addressing special education in charter schools, document trends, and discover how state charter school laws pertaining to special education align with the trends, which can then be translated into practice in how to manage the balance between autonomy and required policy.