How Do D.C.’s Charter Schools Serve Special Needs Students?

Washington, D.C.’s public schools serve one of the highest percentages of special needs populations in the country. The nation’s capital has long had neglected special education facilities and trouble funding the more expensive services that this population requires. As a result, a few charter schools have opened up in the District to serve the needs of children on varying points of the special education spectrum in the last few years. However, like many charter schools, they have waiting lists.

In the meantime, parents in the district are often at a loss as to how to place their kids in the right special education program in regular public and charter schools. Plus, charter schools that do not specifically serve this population must get up to speed on how to educate students with learning disabilities who enroll in their schools, in order to comply with federal law. As Washington D.C. School Chancellor Michelle Rhee guides the public schools toward more inclusive programs for special education students, and charter schools like KIPP and Friendship flourish by attracting high-achieving students, is charter-focused education reform benefiting students with special needs or leaving them behind?

Columbia News21 Fellows Elaine Meyer and Paul Stephens’ story will get into how D.C.’s charter and traditional public schools serve this population. They hope to enriche it with input from the D.C. community, so please contact them if you have any experience or knowledge about special education in D.C. public schools.