About 10.4 percent of students at charter schools have disabilities compared to 12.5 percent of those attending public schools. Children with disabilities at charters, however, are far more likely to attend classes alongside their typically-developing peers.
The findings come from a report released this week by the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools analyzing information gathered by the U.S. Department of Education in its 2011-2012 civil rights data collection.
“Charter schools have been operating for over 20 years throughout the U.S. yet too little is known about the status of students with disabilities in this growing sector of public education,” said Lauren Morando Rhim, the group’s co-founder.
The results suggest that special education enrollment at charters is inching up. In 2012, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that during the 2009-2010 school year kids with disabilities accounted for only about 8 percent of charter school students and 11 percent of those at public schools.