Anonymous wrote:Not case law.. as a former charter school employee I just know this for a fact. It is not a controversial issue - the whole point of a charter school is to get out from under the thumb of the public school district. Each charter is its own district.

10:05 here. Thank you for answering this. You are correct. It's not about case law. It's about how the system is set up. In the District of Columbia, there is a huge school system called DCPS. And then there are, (what 30? I don't have the exact number), smaller, individual school systems that are the charters. Those schools have autonomy that DCPS schools do not. Why? Because they are their own school district. If they want to buy their furniture from Ikea, they can. If they want to buy 100 iPads they can. If they want to hire 3 teachers for each classroom, they can. If they want to fundraise to pay for staffing, they can. If you are a principal at a DCPS school, however, you do not have that latitude. You have to follow the hiring and purchasing rules of DCPS. If something breaks, you call the maintenance crew within DCPS. If you are at a charter school, and something breaks, you are responsible for fixing it yourself because you are your own school system. You don't call the DCPS maintenance crew. That would be like something breaking in Montgomery County, and they call a Fairfax crew to come fix it.

As for following the rules of providing a free and appropriate education, ALL school systems (DCPS and all the charter school systems) have to follow the same rules and regulations. That's just a fact. No case law because it has never been challenged. I suppose anything can be challenged. But this is pretty much how public education and IDEA work.

It seems like BASIS is taking actions to fix the problems. Special education is so highly regulated that schools need to fund experts to navigate the rules.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And (pp here) I take the very good point made above that, legally, BASIS is a public school district in itself. I still think functionally, however, that is not true. BASIS is just a school. Not that that will help in a court of law.

No, it's very true, and BASIS knows this. BASIS knows it's both a school system AND a school. Just like DCPS, just like Two Rivers, just like Latin, BASIS has to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by OSSE--the state superintendent of education for the District of Columbia. AND as a charter school, they have to comply with the rule of the DC Charter School board. BASIS has known all along that they are accountable as a school system.

Or, sad to say, they will have to get better lawyers and utilize better CYA procedures to minimize said accountability and yet continue to operate.

Anonymous wrote:And (pp here) I take the very good point made above that, legally, BASIS is a public school district in itself. I still think functionally, however, that is not true. BASIS is just a school. Not that that will help in a court of law.

No, it's very true, and BASIS knows this. BASIS knows it's both a school system AND a school. Just like DCPS, just like Two Rivers, just like Latin, BASIS has to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by OSSE--the state superintendent of education for the District of Columbia. AND as a charter school, they have to comply with the rule of the DC Charter School board. BASIS has known all along that they are accountable as a school system.

Not case law.. as a former charter school employee I just know this for a fact. It is not a controversial issue - the whole point of a charter school is to get out from under the thumb of the public school district. Each charter is its own district.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that all schools should not be forced to accommodate if they have special accelerated programs that cannot function with accommodations. IDEA gives you the right to an equal education in general, not at a specific school or program.

That said, if the Feds are investigating I bet they have some serious evidence. Like a document or witness discussing getting rid of IEP students.

But what you need to understand is that each charter school is its own "school system." And by law, each public school system MUST provide a free and appropriate education to its students whether or not they have an IEP. BASIS is a both a school AND a school system. Two Rivers is its own school system with a middle and lower school within. Latin is its own school system with one school within it. Capital City is its own school system with an upper, middle and lower school within it. And DCPS is a school system. It has many, many schools within it. Fairfax County Public Schools is a system that has about 200 schools in it. All of these public school systems have to provide for their students. If they can't, then they are responsible for contracting out to a school that can.

So no, it's not okay that BASIS as a school system accept public money and but not have to comply with the rules that every single school system has to comply with. If you don't want to teach students with special education needs, then become a private school and take no public funding. Or take the public funding and hire staff to provide the education. Or take the public funding and contract out to another school where the child can be educated.

Can you point to any case law that supports your assertion? Where an appellate court has considered this specific issue and ruled that every charter = a distinct school system.

The fact that a charter school accepts public funds doesn't prove your assertion, btw.

Final point here (by PP again) - I think all parents need to be aware of the categories of IEP allowed by law. Saying "my kid did fine with his/her IEP" is not helpful. Autism & visual/hearing disability is not typically a problem for BASIS in AZ. What will really be difficult for BASIS if they are investigated in DC under their current practices are ED/LD IEPs.

And (pp here) I take the very good point made above that, legally, BASIS is a public school district in itself. I still think functionally, however, that is not true. BASIS is just a school. Not that that will help in a court of law.

Right, BASIS has always been upfront in AZ (a very charter friendly republican state) that students (and parents) need to get with it or get out (or not make a fuss and take their F quietly). Autistic kids can do OK as long as they are not disruptive, but won't get much individualized attention. Same for hearing/visual impairment. Emotional disturbance and learning disability kids not so much. BASIS takes a smack-up-the-backside-of-the-head approach to ED in particular. Looks like that is not flying in DC. Like I said, I personally feel LD/ED kids need to be accommodated somewhere in a public school system, but not necessarily at the most rigorous academic schools. But then also I understand the equal protection response from parents with kids on IEPs. And then there is the law, which I guess trumps my opinions and that of BASIS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was another parent who chose not have IEP at BASIS with my child who needed one previously (for many years). Like the previous parent, I made an informed decision prior to the school year about my kid and my kid soared at BASIS, We are looking forward our second year at BASIS.

That's really swell. My guess, then, is that your child never really needed accommodations and modifications and services in the first place. Your comment says more about your kid and nothing about BASIS. Unfortunately, the kids who really did need services and accommodations at BASIS last year got the short end of the stick. They had an IEP and they actually needed it to be implemented.

What I get from this is that kids who truly need real accommodations and services to be able to basically function and learn the basics are likely not the best candidates for a school such as BASIS.

Actually I met several families whose kids have IEPs at BASIS and they were quite happy. I think any charter will have kinks to work out the first year and I am confident BASIS will do everything in their power to resolve any issues.

Then Basis should be a private school. As long as they take tax payer money, they have to comply with IDEA legislation.
Also, if a school has no real intent to reach every child, they shouldn't put that out there as a selling point.

Anonymous wrote:I agree that all schools should not be forced to accommodate if they have special accelerated programs that cannot function with accommodations. IDEA gives you the right to an equal education in general, not at a specific school or program.

That said, if the Feds are investigating I bet they have some serious evidence. Like a document or witness discussing getting rid of IEP students.

But what you need to understand is that each charter school is its own "school system." And by law, each public school system MUST provide a free and appropriate education to its students whether or not they have an IEP. BASIS is a both a school AND a school system. Two Rivers is its own school system with a middle and lower school within. Latin is its own school system with one school within it. Capital City is its own school system with an upper, middle and lower school within it. And DCPS is a school system. It has many, many schools within it. Fairfax County Public Schools is a system that has about 200 schools in it. All of these public school systems have to provide for their students. If they can't, then they are responsible for contracting out to a school that can.

So no, it's not okay that BASIS as a school system accept public money and but not have to comply with the rules that every single school system has to comply with. If you don't want to teach students with special education needs, then become a private school and take no public funding. Or take the public funding and hire staff to provide the education. Or take the public funding and contract out to another school where the child can be educated.

Anonymous wrote:Funny - I am not a fan of the BASIS model since its focus on relentless accelerated curriculum emotionally damages too many of its students and its focus on standardized testing intellectually short-changes all its students. Nonetheless, I think as long as kids with IEPs can get their needs met somewhere within a public school system, I think it is silly and very counterproductive to expect an academically rigorous school like BASIS with slender funding to be a jack of all trades.

Thank God the law doesn't agree with you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was another parent who chose not have IEP at BASIS with my child who needed one previously (for many years). Like the previous parent, I made an informed decision prior to the school year about my kid and my kid soared at BASIS, We are looking forward our second year at BASIS.

That's really swell. My guess, then, is that your child never really needed accommodations and modifications and services in the first place. Your comment says more about your kid and nothing about BASIS. Unfortunately, the kids who really did need services and accommodations at BASIS last year got the short end of the stick. They had an IEP and they actually needed it to be implemented.

What I get from this is that kids who truly need real accommodations and services to be able to basically function and learn the basics are likely not the best candidates for a school such as BASIS.

I agree that all schools should not be forced to accommodate if they have special accelerated programs that cannot function with accommodations. IDEA gives you the right to an equal education in general, not at a specific school or program.

That said, if the Feds are investigating I bet they have some serious evidence. Like a document or witness discussing getting rid of IEP students.