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SETTING POLICY & ESTABLISHING
PRACTICE FOR STRONG SERVICE TO
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
LAUREN MORANDO RHIM & PAUL O’NEILL
NACSA Leadership Meeting October 24, 2012
1 Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
Special Education in Charter Schools
Most public schools struggle to provide high quality special education services but charter schools face unique challenges.
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Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
Policy Challenges
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• Independent single school district
• Part of an existing district
Retrofitting existing system
• Intermediate agencies
• Cooperatives
• Associations
Limited access to standard
service infrastructures
Operational Challenges
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Amassing special education capacity
Managing limited special education
dollars
Navigating shared service
delivery
Balancing autonomy and accountability
Special Education in Charter Schools
Nevertheless, the sector presents opportunities to innovate…
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Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
Special Education Opportunities
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Create-mission driven schools that include students with disabilities by design rather than as an add-on
Special Education Opportunities
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Develop innovative service provision models in a time-compressed manner absent having to overcome existing policies and practices.
Special Education Opportunities
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Cultivate special education infrastructures and conduct research to track effectiveness and financial sustainability.
Special Education Opportunities
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Provide online and hybrid/blended learning environments that support highly individualized learning
Special Education Opportunities
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To realize potential opportunities for students with disabilities, charter schools must provide students access and quality special education and related services.
Charter school authorizers are central to ensuring that school comply with federal requirements and provide high quality options for students with disabilities.
Special Education Technical Assistance Pro
ble
m To date, most technical assistance
related to special education has focused on charter school operators but charter school authorizers are uniquely positioned to make certain that:
• new and replication applicants have the capacity to educate children with disabilities and
• existing operators are providing high quality special education and related services to all students with disabilities and are complying with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.
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Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
Charter Authorizer Rubric Project
Resp
ons
e Develop three phase rubric for
authorizers that will improve their capacity to support development and maintenance of high quality special education programs thereby ensuring that students with disabilities have equal access to charter schools
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Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
Authorizer Rubric
Three Phases:
Application/Replication
Operations/Oversight
Renewal/Reauthorization
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Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
APPLICATION PHASE
Objective:
Provide authorizers with means to assess applicant’s capacity to deliver high quality special education program
Infuse an additional layer of transparency into the authorization process
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Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
OPERATIONS/OVERSIGHT PHASE
Objective:
Provide a structure to ensure that operating charter schools are meeting obligations to enroll and support students with disabilities.
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Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
RENEWAL/REAUTHORIZATION PHASE
Objective: Provide a structure for authorizers to examine individual charter school practices over the life of charter (e.g., Child Find, enrollment procedures, initial evaluations, development of IEPs, provision of related services and transition services) for the purpose of informing renewal decisions
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Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
RUBRIC CATEGORIES
Administration/Governance
Curriculum and instruction
Assessment
Enrollment
Service provision
Specialized personnel (e.g., certified special education teachers, administrators, related services personnel)
Budget
Discipline
Facility
Transportation
Management company experience and practices (where applicable)
Track record (for schools seeking to replicate)
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Authorizer Special Education Rubric Project
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Key Authorizer Issues
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1. How do we know that applicants fully understand the challenge of serving special needs students and complying with applicable rules?
Key Authorizer Issues
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2. Are operating charter schools engaging in service delivery in appropriate ways?
Key Authorizer Issues
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3. Are charter schools serving and retaining a comparable number of students with disabilities as are other local public schools?
Key Authorizer Issues
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4. Are operating charter schools handling the disciplining of special education students properly?
Key Authorizer Issues
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5. How should an imperfect record on special education compliance be factored into an authorizer’s renewal decision?
Questions Suggestions?
• ptponeill@gmail.com
Paul O’Neill
• Lauren_Rhim@lmrconsulting.us
Lauren Morando Rhim
• http://www.charterschoolcenter.org/priority-area/special-education-0
National Charter School Resource Center
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