Special Education in Charter Schools

Summary

As public schools, charter schools must have open enrollment for any student seeking to enroll in the school, and when the school has greater demand than seats must administer a non-discriminatory selection process (this is typically done through a lottery). Charter schools are encouraged to evaluate their programming for educating students with disabilities and to identify the technical assistance they may need in order to effectively implement quality programs. The best programs that are most supportive to successful enrollment and instruction for students with disabilities come from schools and authorizers that develop clear plans for how to support effective student transitions. This planning should include ensuring that the school and the authorizer have clear expectations for understanding each other's roles as they relate to IDEA compliance, liabilities and responsibilities, curricular adaptations, and instructional modifications. Charter applications and contractual negotiations should provide explicit language for identifying and serving special education students.

Parent Resources 

• CDE Exceptional Student Services Unit Newsletter Signup
• Find my Special Education Director
• Special Education Enrollment Rule Changes Administrative Alert
• Parent Counseling and Training
• School and Family Partnership
• CDE Exceptional Student Services Parent Resources
• Special Education Enrollment Procedures (Charter School Institute)
• Disability Categories and Eligibility Criteria
• IEP Forms 
• SAT Accommodations

Educator Resources​

• Special Education FAQ's
• Special Education Enrollment Rule Changes Administrative Alert
• CDE Exceptional Student Services Unit Newsletter Signup
• CDE/CEE Learning Series: From Policy to Practice: Changing Beliefs about Charter Schools' Inclusivity of Diverse Learners
• ACCESS for Multi-Lingual Learners
• Behavior
• Secondary Transition
• Preschool Special Education and Child Find
• Licensure
• Instructional Accommodations
• Instructional Standards
• IEP Guidance
  • Instructional Standards
  • Disability Categories and Eligibility Criteria
  • IEP Forms 
• Procedural Safeguards
• CLD Learners
• ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act
  • ​ECEA (State)
  • IDEA (Federal)
  • Section 504
• Testing and Assessment
  • SAT
  • ​SAT Accommodations

Authorizer Resources

• Special Education FAQ's
• Special Education Enrollment Rule Changes Administrative Alert
• CDE Exceptional Student Services Unit Newsletter Signup
• Special Education Director's Corner
• CDE/CEE Learning Series: From Policy to Practice: Changing Beliefs about Charter Schools' Inclusivity of Diverse Learners
• Special Education Enrollment Procedures (Charter School Institute)
• ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
• ECEA (State)
• IDEA (Federal)
• Section 504
• Services Resources
• ACCESS for ML’s
• SPED Technical Assistance Documents
• SPED Technical Assistance Trainings
• Testing and Assessment
  • SAT
  • ​SAT Accommodations

Additional Resources & Research

• Center for Learner Equity, "Report on Enrollment of Students with Disabilities in Colorado Charter Schools"
• Colorado Association of Charter School Authorizers (CACSA) Special Education Resources
• Colorado Charter School Institute Special Education Resources
• Colorado League of Charter Schools Exceptional Student Services
• National Charter School Resource Center - Special Education Resources
  • Special Education Toolkit: Guidance for Charter School Authorizers
• OSEP - Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs