Oregon's largest charter school miseducated student for years, graduated her unable to read or write | OregonLive.com

Oregon's largest charter school miseducated student for years, graduated her unable to read or write | OregonLive.com:

Oregon's largest charter school miseducated student for years, graduated her unable to read or write

by Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

View full sizeKatherine Brafford, who grew up in Southern Oregon, is having to learn Braille and other blindness-navigation skills as an adult because Oregon Connections Academy and the Scio School District graduated her without equipping her to use basic assistive technology or other skills that are standard in educating students with severe vision impairments.Robert Durrell / Special to The Oregonian 

Katherine Brafford is a young woman of sparkling intellect whose interests span from genetics to Gregorian chant. She also has a rare vision impairment that has worsened to the point that she needs the same services as someone who is blind.

Last year, Oregon Connections Academy, an online charter school with more students than any other Oregon public school, graduated her -- despite failing to teach her to read or write independently.

The way the school and its sponsoring school district treated Brafford, knowing she could not see to read or write, offers a nightmarish example of what advocates for disabled students have long feared: Charter schools can be reluctant or unable to serve special education students as required by law.

When given early, effective help, young people with disabilities can grow up to become contributing members of society. Since 1975, federal law has required all public schools to offer that support. In Oregon, that applies to more than 70,000 students.

But charter schools don't appear to be doing their share. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported last year that charter schools enroll a