A charter school’s legal status as part of a larger local education agency (LEA) independent LEA affects the autonomy, funding, and programming of the school—and is essential to understanding what entity is responsible for educating students with disabilities. Nevertheless, LEA status can be confusing, especially since approaches vary by state and even by school. This infographic outlines the different approaches and their implications for students with disabilities.
The Center’s bi-annual secondary analyses of the US Department of State’s Civil Rights Data Collection help to identify trend data related to special education in public schools, and in particular in US charter schools. This infographic illustrates key trends the Center identified in our analysis of the 2015-2016 data collection.