The right choice?
Charter schools serve fewer special education students than traditional schools, and some struggle to meld their unique philosophy with the needs of disabled children.
By: Sarah Karp / April 4, 2012
From the Spring 2012 issue of Catalyst-Chicago Special Education
Namaste Charter School teacher Sarah Thomas works with special education students in a regular classroom. Namaste’s administration stresses co-teaching, which benefits children with special needs. [Photo by Cristina Rutter]
Kristin Gagnon works with a student in Namaste’s learning lab, a special room with extra equipment where children can work individually or in small groups with teachers. [Photo by Cristina Rutter]
At 6, Maria Martinez’ son barely spoke a sentence, and when he did, it came out garbled. His reading and writing skills also were below grade level.
He was enrolled in a small Catholic school, and his teacher knew he needed specialized help. But she doubted the school could offer it and gently explained to Martinez that she would need to transfer him to her neighborhood public school.
“I noticed it too,” says Martinez, whose name was changed to protect the privacy of her son. “I noticed that he was disconnected. I noticed him lost.”
Martinez took him and his older brother to
Why It Matters
Placement of special education students in private therapeutic schools, designed for students with more severe disabilities, has declined in Chicago. Advocates for these children question whether they are getting the services they need.
- CPS receives $86 million from the state to pay for private placements. But fewer than 900 students are in therapeutic schools, and advocates accuse the district of banking part of the money.
- Almost 600 of the students are in schools that are part of a special contracting program in which CPS pays a lower daily rate than the state sets, regardless of student attendance. CPS could not provide evaluation data for these schools.
- Out of 30 complaints to ISBE over the last two years, 20 were filed by parents fighting for placements, usually after their child had been failing for years in public schools.
- CPS officials insist they are doing a better job of serving special needs students inside the district, but high dropout rates among this group of students contradict that assertion.