Affiliation:
1. Auburn University, USA
Abstract
The public desire for school choice has led to the staggering growth of charter schools. Yet, charter schools are often criticized for their inability to maintain autonomy in the face of the requirements to provide special education services. This chapter will explore empirical research on charter schools and special education uncovering themes in policy, practice, access, funding, and parent satisfaction. The research recommendations also cluster into themes including governance, service delivery model, operations and technical assistance. Next, the charter school laws in each of the 43 states that allow charter schools were examined for evidence of the four recommended themes. The results indicated how some states were bridging the autonomous nature of charter school laws with the inflexible mandates of special education law.
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