special education: innovative arrangements between a school district and charter schools results in...
TRANSCRIPT
Special Education: Innovative Arrangements Between a School
District and Charter Schools Results in Better Outcomes for Students with
Special Needs
ACSA Every Child Counts Symposium
Brian Bauer, CEO, Granada Hills Charter High SchoolSharyn Howell, Executive Director, LAUSD
Gina Plate, Sr. Advisor for Special Education
January 16, 2015
Charter Schools
Intended as models for innovation, charter schools are uniquely position to provide individualized support to all students.
Local Educational Agency (LEA) for Special
EducationEd. Code §47641(a)
Part of an LEA (“School of the District”)
Ed. Code §47641(b)
California Charter Schools have two options for special education service delivery and responsibility:
California:Two Options for Charter Schools
Key Factors
• Independent LEA for special education purposes
• Part of an LEA for special education purposes
Legal Status
• Relationship to authorizer dictates:• Access to funding• Service delivery responsibility and
decision making authority
Linkage
= Authorizer = Traditional School = Charter School
Another look at the Options
Independent LEA for Special Education
(No Link)
Part of an LEA/ School of the District
(Total Link)
Responsibility & Funding Responsibility & Funding
Another look at the Structures
LEA for Special Education
School of The District
School District
CharterSchool
SELPA
Charter School:Autonomy,
Flexibility, Funding
SELPA: Compliance,
Funding
Authorizer: Oversight,
Funding
The Great Divide: Competing Interests
Quality Services for Students
Los Angeles Unified School District
LAUSD ADA 611,000; Enrollment: 653,826
Students with Disabilities: 82,000
304 Charter Schools; 122,000 ADA
The LAUSD Vision
Expand the innovative, high-quality school choice options available for vulnerable youth by empowering charter schools to:
Serve a greater number of students with unique needs;
Provide innovative, high-quality services to a broader range of students.
11
The LAUSD SELPA Structure
• One Single-District SELPA
• Two Sub-groups– District-Operated Programs– Charter-Operated Programs
LAUSD: One structure, two programs
LAUSD Board of Education
LAUSD SELPA
$
District-Operated Program
$
Charter-Operated Program
Advisory Committee2 charter representatives3 district representatives
One SELPA, two Programs
District Operated Program Charter Operated Program
LAUSD SELPA
Affiliated charters
Traditional district schools and “school of
the district” charters
Programs and Services
Option 2
charters
Option 1
charters
Semi-autonomous
“LEA-like” charters
Option 3
charter
Option 3
charter
Option 3
charter
$ $
How Does the Charter Operated Program (COP) Structure Look Like In
LAUSD?
• Charter Schools 80%
• Admin. Costs 10%• Pooled for Risk Sharing 10%
Each charter school assumes responsibility for providing all special education services similar to structure available to schools operating as an LEA for special education purposes.
Charter schools in the new program have increased both the number and range of students with disabilities they serve
COP schools increased the percentage of students with disabilities they serve from 8.12% in 2010-’11 to 9.73% in 2012-’13.
COP schools have increased the proportion of students with the most severe ("low-incidence") disabilities by 39%.
Case Study: Los Angeles
District Operated Schools (including special ed centers)
COP Members (2010-11 data is prior to joining COP)
Non-COP Independent Charters
All Charters
12.10%
8.08%
8.21%
8.21%
12.04%
9.01%
8.41%
8.62%
12.30%
9.73%
8.96%
9.30%
2012-13 2011-12 2010-11
Successes in New Arrangements
• A regression analysis showed every additional year as an LEA a school has an average increase of .4% in the proportion of student population identified with a disability.
• In other words, after 5 years as an LEA, the average increase in population of SWD is 2%.