Volume 4 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 54

52 growth demonstrates the demand for innovative, high- quality education. Many of the innovations in teaching and learning which are now considered as common practice were born in the charter school movement. Charter Schools and Students with Disabilities While charter schools have the freedom to be innovative, they are held accountable for student achievement and financial standards (Center for Law and Education, 2012; Drame & Frattura, 2011; National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 2017; Schneider, 2017). Federal funding is provided to all public-school districts, including charter schools, and receipt of those funds obligates public schools to comply with federal policies, procedures, and laws, including civil rights laws (Rhim, 2008; Rhim & McLaughlin, 2001). Charter schools that are considered autonomous typically bear the full responsibility for providing all aspects of special education services to eligible students, including evaluations, programs, and related services. This responsibility is a fiscal and administrative burden many charter schools struggle to address while providing a full continuum of services to students with various disabilities, particularly since those with severe disabilities can be beyond the monetary capacity of some charter schools (Ahearn, 2001; Center for Law and Education, 2012; Mulligan, n.d.; Rhim, 2008; Rhim & McLaughlin, 2001). National charter school studies have reported a 2−4% difference in the enrollment of special education students, indicating charter schools serve a smaller proportion of students with disabilities than traditional public schools (Ahearn, 2001; Center for Law and Education, 2012; CREDO, 2013; Drame & Frattura, 2011; Estes, 2009; Maughan, 2001; Miron, 2014; Prothero, 2014; Rhim & McLaughlin, 2001; Stern et al., 2015; Winters, 2015). Researchers agree this may be due to counseling out, a lack of knowledge of charter leadership, conflict with the mission and vision of the charter, and a lack of financial resources (Ahearn, 2001; Center for Law and Education, 2012; Drame, 2011; Estes, 2009; GAO, 2012; Kahama, 2015; Maughan, 2001; Miron, 2014; Porter, 2006; Rhim & McLaughlin, 2001; Stern et al., 2015; Winters, 2015). As the charter school movement continues to expand, charter schools continue to be under more pressure to resolve barriers and ensure equal access to quality instruction, creating innovative supports for students with disabilities. CREDO (2013) provided a comparison of the academic outcomes of charter schools and traditional public schools (TPS) in the United States in 2009 and 2013 and found special education students’ learning gains in reading and math were statistically significant for continuing charter schools compared to their TPS counterparts. The report revealed that while demographic trends show charter schools educating more students with disabilities in 2013 than in 2009, charter schools are making “slow and steady progress” not “dramatic improvement” (CREDO, 2013, p. 87). Texas and Students with Disabilities The first Texas charter schools began operation in fall 1996 and were designed to be testing zones for innovation— given more autonomy from state laws than traditional public schools. From 1998-2002, the state of Texas special education enrollment percentage ranged from 11.7% to 12.4% in public schools, which was comparable to the national averages (Texas Education Agency [TEA], 2017a). By 2017, the percentage of special education students enrolled in Texas public schools declined to 8.9%, the lowest in the nation, and the percentage of special education students in Texas charter schools was 6.7%. During the 2016-2017 school year, the state of Texas was investigated by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for its declining enrollment percentage of children with disabilities (Ryder, 2018; TEA, 2017b;). Based on the findings from the OSEP (Ryder, 2018), the state of Texas began working on a corrective action plan for improving special education in Texas. In April 2018, the TEA released a Special Education Strategic Plan which outlined the efforts the TEA would make to improve the support and supervision of Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and their implementation of state and federal requirements for special education (TEA, 2018b, 2018c). Incidentally, during the 2017-2018 school year, the special education percentage for the state increased to 9.2%, an increase of 21,039 students in special Deborah Garton, EdD