Charters slightly better for special needs (in NYC, anyway)

New York City's Independent Budget Office has released a report finding children with disabilities stayed at charters at a slightly higher rate than at traditional public schools, contrary to the prevailing narrative, writes Elizabeth Harris for The New York Times. The report examined 3,000 students at charters and 7,200 students at nearby traditional public schools who started kindergarten in 2008. It found that 53 percent of the charter kindergartners with disabilities were in the same schools four years later, compared with 49 percent in traditional schools. The results were similar for the overall student population, with 64 percent at the same charter and 56 percent remaining in the same traditional schools in the same time frame. The findings are in striking contrast to last year's report from the city budget office, which indicated that special-education students left charters at a much higher rate than from traditional district schools: Only 20 percent remained at their charter, while 50 percent remained at their public school. A budget office spokesman said the divergent results stem from using different metrics. Last year's report studied only children in full-time special-education programs, whereas this year's report looked at all children identified as having a disability, regardless of classes attended. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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