Charter school placing out due to special needs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lets all try to be supportive here, Ok?

Nobody else had info anywhere near as good as the PP wih the outplaced friends, right?

So she was super helpful, I thought, and basically mirrorered the process listed in the OSSE document, though it is certainly all complex. She did say it was based on her friends' experience at one charter. Let's not attack and let's not a are her away. We can all benefit from anecdotal info.

+1

[Anonymous]

Perhaps calling it a back door option was incorrect, but it seems to me that the way the Charters are set up- as individual LEAs, it will lead to more special education children being placed in private schools. Charters are not big enough systems to develop the expertise needed to provide FAPE for the wide range of special needs that may arise. The fact that they will not be able to place a child in a program run by other Charters or DCPS without parent consent, it another indication to me that eventually the number of privately placed special needs children will be at a higher % than in DCPS - especially for those special needs that do not present themselves before enrollment. I also predict a private school version of being "counseled out" to develop in the Charters.

[Anonymous]

Some charters do expell kids for behavior problems which could be unaddressed special needs certainly. I have read stories in the Post about that.

I guess the question is how far do they have to go before they write this Justification for Removal? Do they have to offer a non-immersion environment or non-Montessori environment if that is their mission (language Montessori or both)? Do they have to develop a non immersion class for one because your child with a language LD cannot learn the language (example because easy to grasp). Or do they send you to private SN school even though you can do ok in non immersion school DCPS or charter? If they don't help get you in to a good DCPS or charter (charter seems impossible since the good ones are mostly their own LEA), how does it work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some charters do expell kids for behavior problems which could be unaddressed special needs certainly. I have read stories in the Post about that.

I guess the question is how far do they have to go before they write this Justification for Removal? Do they have to offer a non-immersion environment or non-Montessori environment if that is their mission (language Montessori or both)? Do they have to develop a non immersion class for one because your child with a language LD cannot learn the language (example because easy to grasp). Or do they send you to private SN school even though you can do ok in non immersion school DCPS or charter? If they don't help get you in to a good DCPS or charter (charter seems impossible since the good ones are mostly their own LEA), how does it work?

Some of the immersion charters have a non-immersion class for their students, ex Yu Ying, where the students are taught in English and have Chinese classes during the week, not sure how often. These students are not taught other subjects like Math, Science, etc in the 50% English, 50% Mandarin model. So obviously, kids are not "counseled out" simply b/c they cannot keep up in the immersion language and alternative (private) placements cannot be done without the consent of the parents.

[Anonymous]

I'm still confused about the role of OSSE in all this. I get that charter, as its own LEA, is required to provide FAPE, and if it can't, a private placement is suggested. But OSSE funds the private placement. I would think that before OSSE gives the green light, they have the option of looking at everything in DCPS and suggesting that, and the family has to show why those placements are not appropriate.

What am I missing here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm still confused about the role of OSSE in all this. I get that charter, as its own LEA, is required to provide FAPE, and if it can't, a private placement is suggested. But OSSE funds the private placement. I would think that before OSSE gives the green light, they have the option of looking at everything in DCPS and suggesting that, and the family has to show why those placements are not appropriate.

What am I missing here?

The IEP team which includes the parents and who knows the child best, makes the decision whether there is a need for an alternative placement not OSSE. OSSE has an administrative role and provides the funding in all this but they are not the ones that decide on placement.