Reply to Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think that there may be differences in how charters approach special needs kids based upon how the funding works.

My understanding is that our charter school receives extra funding for each child that has an IEP. So, they receive a per pupil allocation for all kids. And, then for special needs kids, the per pupil allocation is higher because those kids require more resources. We have seen that our charter is very open to SN kids and works hard to serve their needs. (FWIW this school is not Bridges or Creative Minds which have a specific mandate in that area).

I am not familiar with the funding at DCPS. But in the special needs world, there is a lot of discussion of 'unfunded mandates' for public schools and fighting to get services for your child's legitimate special needs. My sister, who works in this area, says it is usually MUCH harder to get an IEP than it was for us to get one for our dyslexic kid at a charter school. It seems that the DCPS schools receive an overall budget that they then allocate for different programs(?). So, if they have more SN kids, they don't necessarily get a bigger SpEd budget?

The reason that this makes a difference is that I see higher % SpEd in a lot of the charters that I have looked at compared to highly regarded DCPS schools. I think that it might be that the DCPS schools are less likely to 'see' legitimate special needs because they don't necessarily get more funding to meet those needs. [/quote]

As a parent with a kid with an IEP I am very curious which Charter(s) are doing a good job with IEP kids. It has been a struggle at our IB ECE school.  I have heard mixed things about Bridges. I have also hear a lot of Charters short change IEP kids and  don't provide them with everything in their IEP. But then again we haven't had any easy time getting all the required IEP services at DCPS either. (Though a lot of that seems to be schedule issues and leadership.)[/quote]

You hit the nail on the head. It varies school by school, both within DCPS as well as charter by charter. And you can have a great year in school A for 1st, and an awful one at the same school for 2nd. The skill and approach of the principal matters as does the special ed coordinator. I also think it depends on the child's diagnosis, and what the IEP requires. A school that handles ADHD well may be awful for dyslexia, or vice versa.

My child had an IEP for speech/language services, occupational therapy and support in expressive writing that was implemented well at LAMB. However, that was 2 special education coordinators ago, and I've no idea how it would be now. When we got to middle school only accommodations were needed, and we've had a bumpy road getting those implemented well at both a DCPS and a charter.

My advice is to always supplement with private services if you can, know your rights, and take the decision year by year.

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