1. Special Education in Charter Schools: The Basics Eileen M. Ahearn, Ph.D., Project Director National Association of State Directors of Special Education

2. Plan for this Session What is a charter school’s responsibility for special education? What does LEA status mean? What or who determines this status? How have states handled this issue? The critical policy tension between charter schools and special education.

3. Charter School Responsibility for Special Education Charter schools as a retrofitted element of our public education system. Application of federal laws to all public schools. But how is a charter school responsible?

4. Charter School LEA Status The primacy of state charter schools laws. The problems they pose for special education. The charter school as an LEA or Part of an LEA. Implications of this status.

5. LEA Status Determination The 5 existing “types” of legal status: –All charter schools are LEAs –All charter schools are Part of an LEA –Status depends on the Authorizer –Status depends on the type of School –Status chosen by the Charter School

6. Variation and Change in LEA Status Frequency of changes in state laws. Only a few have affected LEA status. Colorado and Illinois as “similar but different” examples. Georgia’s “charter school systems” and short-lived Charter Commission.

7. The Policy Tension Between Special Education and Charters The charter school concept. The prescriptive nature of special education laws. Examples of this tension Preparing staff and administration to cope with this tension.