Jun 26

Enrollment of Students with Disabilities in Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools

In fall 2019, the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools published its bi-annual analysis of the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). The CRDC is a federal effort that collects data from every public school in the nation regarding key issues including but not limited to overall enrollment and key demographics such as eligibility for special education, race, and gender, educational environment, and discipline and provides researchers with a rich data-set to examine in order to understand current as well as longitudinal trends that capture the experiences of students with disabilities.

This brief expands on the NCSECS’s full analysis of 2015-16 CRDC data and focuses on enrollment data of students with disabilities and the underlying factors that influence their access to charter schools. It concludes with recommended actions we propose practitioners and charter stakeholders should take to improve access for students with disabilities and increase opportunities for innovative practices that can improve outcomes.

Read the Brief
Report Cover