For-Profit Charter Schools and Students with Disabilities - The Sordid Side of the Business of Schooling

Phi Delta Kappan

Volumn 80, Issue 4, 1998, Pages 297-304

  Zollers, Nancy J ^a   Ramanathan, Arun K ^a  

^a BOSTON COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0000839708     PISSN: 00317217     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Lamar Alexander, "School Choice in the Year 2000," Phi Delta Kappan, June 1993, pp. 762-66.
2. See Peter Applebome, "Lure of the Education Market Remains Strong for Business," New York Times, 31 January 1996, p. A-1. This article reports that the United States spends $340 billion on preschool to high school education and that, overall, public education is a $600-billion enterprise, constituting 8.9% of the gross domestic product, second only to health care.
3. See "Appendix B: State Case Studies: Massachusetts," in Chester E. Finn, Jr., Bruno Manno, and Louann Bierlein, Charter Schools in Action: What Have We Learned ? (Indianapolis: Hudson Institute, 1996). The authors state that "nowhere else in the universe of charter states has such a large percentage of for-profit firms been so involved in Charter Schools."
4. See Angela Dale and Dave DeSchryver, The Charter School Workbook: Your Roadmap to the Charter School Movement (Washington, D.C.: Center for Education Reform, 1997). Chapter 2 of this handbook ranks charter school legislation from strongest to weakest. The Massachusetts Charter School Law is ranked the fifth strongest law in the nation.
5. See charter school applications, financial audits, and end-of-the-year reports, which are available from the State Charter School Office, l Ashburton Place, Rm. 1403, Boston, MA 02108.
6. For these data, see The Massachusetts Charter School Initiative (Malden: Massachusetts Department of Education, January 1997).
7. See Finn, Manno, and Bierlein, op. cit.; Chester E. Finn, Jr., Louann Bierlein, and Bruno Manno, Charter Schools in Action: A First Look (Washington, D.C.: Educational Excellence Network, 1996); and Bruno Manno et al., "Charter Schools: Accomplishments and Dilemmas," Teachers College Record, Spring 1998, pp. 537-58.
8. See Finn, Manno, and Bierlein, op. cit.; Chester E. Finn, Jr., Louann Bierlein, and Bruno Manno, Charter Schools in Action: A First Look (Washington, D.C.: Educational Excellence Network, 1996); and Bruno Manno et al., "Charter Schools: Accomplishments and Dilemmas," Teachers College Record, Spring 1998, pp. 537-58.
9. See Finn, Manno, and Bierlein, op. cit.; Chester E. Finn, Jr., Louann Bierlein, and Bruno Manno, Charter Schools in Action: A First Look (Washington, D.C.: Educational Excellence Network, 1996); and Bruno Manno et al., "Charter Schools: Accomplishments and Dilemmas," Teachers College Record, Spring 1998, pp. 537-58.
10. For these statistics, see 1996-97 School Systems Summary Report: Special Education Incidence (Malden: Information and Outreach Service, Massachusetts Department of Education, March 1998).
11. M.G.L. c.71. Sec. 89; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § § 1401-1491; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794.
12. Peggy Farber, "The Edison Project Scores - and Stumbles - in Boston," Phi Delta Kappan, March 1998, pp. 506-11.
13. Shayna W. v. Boston Renaissance School, BSEA 96-1272 (Boston, 1996); and Rebha G. v. Boston Renaissance School, BSEA 96-2207 (Boston, 1996).
14. For detailed explanations of the legal obligations of charter schools toward students with disabilities and discussions of the legality of counseling out, see Joseph R. McKinney, "Charter Schools and Their Legal Responsibilities Toward Children with Disabilities," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Education Law Association, Chicago, November 1997; Jay Heubert, "Schools Without Rules? Charter Schools, Federal Disability Law, and the Paradoxes of Deregulation," Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, Summer 1997, pp. 301-53; and Questions and Answers: Application of Federal Civil Rights Laws to Public Charter Schools (Washington, D.C.: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, November 1997).
15. For detailed explanations of the legal obligations of charter schools toward students with disabilities and discussions of the legality of counseling out, see Joseph R. McKinney, "Charter Schools and Their Legal Responsibilities Toward Children with Disabilities," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Education Law Association, Chicago, November 1997; Jay Heubert, "Schools Without Rules? Charter Schools, Federal Disability Law, and the Paradoxes of Deregulation," Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, Summer 1997, pp. 301-53; and Questions and Answers: Application of Federal Civil Rights Laws to Public Charter Schools (Washington, D.C.: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, November 1997).
16. For detailed explanations of the legal obligations of charter schools toward students with disabilities and discussions of the legality of counseling out, see Joseph R. McKinney, "Charter Schools and Their Legal Responsibilities Toward Children with Disabilities," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Education Law Association, Chicago, November 1997; Jay Heubert, "Schools Without Rules? Charter Schools, Federal Disability Law, and the Paradoxes of Deregulation," Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, Summer 1997, pp. 301-53; and Questions and Answers: Application of Federal Civil Rights Laws to Public Charter Schools (Washington, D.C.: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, November 1997).
17. Nancy J. Zollers, "Charter Schools and Students with Disabilities: Findings from the First Nationwide Survey of Charter Schools and Special Education," paper presented at the Annual Charter School Conference, Milwaukee, April 1995.
18. Chester E. Finn, Jr., "Good Intentions Gone Awry in Special Education," National Review, 11 March 1996, pp. 18-25; Finn, Manno, and Bierlein, op. cit.; Finn, Bierlein, and Manno, op. cit.; and Manno et al., op. cit.
19. Chester E. Finn, Jr., "Good Intentions Gone Awry in Special Education," National Review, 11 March 1996, pp. 18-25; Finn, Manno, and Bierlein, op. cit.; Finn, Bierlein, and Manno, op. cit.; and Manno et al., op. cit.
20. Chester E. Finn, Jr., "Good Intentions Gone Awry in Special Education," National Review, 11 March 1996, pp. 18-25; Finn, Manno, and Bierlein, op. cit.; Finn, Bierlein, and Manno, op. cit.; and Manno et al., op. cit.
21. Chester E. Finn, Jr., "Good Intentions Gone Awry in Special Education," National Review, 11 March 1996, pp. 18-25; Finn, Manno, and Bierlein, op. cit.; Finn, Bierlein, and Manno, op. cit.; and Manno et al., op. cit.
22. For a comparison of education expenditures by district, see the Massachusetts Department of Education website (doe.mass.edu/pub/win/pp96day.xls).
23. For an explanation of how Massachusetts calculates average cost per student for charter school funding, sec "Technical Advisory - Definition of Average Cost Per Student," memorandum from Secretary Piedad Robertson and Commissioner Robert Antonucci to Secretary Charles Baker, 8 December 1994.
24. For an overview of the history of educational management companies and an analysis of their present and previous efforts to make money in public education, sec Craig E. Richards, Rima Shore, and Max B. Sawicky, Risky Business: Private Management of Public Schools (Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute, 1996); and F. Howard Nelson, "How Private Management Firms Seek to Make Money in Public Schools," Journal of School Business Management, Spring 1997, pp. 73-92.
25. For an overview of the history of educational management companies and an analysis of their present and previous efforts to make money in public education, sec Craig E. Richards, Rima Shore, and Max B. Sawicky, Risky Business: Private Management of Public Schools (Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute, 1996); and F. Howard Nelson, "How Private Management Firms Seek to Make Money in Public Schools," Journal of School Business Management, Spring 1997, pp. 73-92.
26. Richard J. Murnane and Frank Levy, "What General Motors Can Teach U.S. Schools About the Proper Role of Markets in Education Reform," Phi Delta Kappan, October 1996, pp. 108-14.
27. For an analysis of management companies' curricula and instruction: their heavy reliance on inexperienced, first-year teachers; and the "inclusion" model as part of their overall business strategy, see Richards, Shore, and Sawicky, op. cit.; Nelson, op. cit.; and idem, Student Achievement in Edison Schools: Mixed Results in an Ongoing Enterprise (Washington, D.C.; American Federation of Teachers, Spring 1998).
28. For an analysis of management companies' curricula and instruction: their heavy reliance on inexperienced, first-year teachers; and the "inclusion" model as part of their overall business strategy, see Richards, Shore, and Sawicky, op. cit.; Nelson, op. cit.; and idem, Student Achievement in Edison Schools: Mixed Results in an Ongoing Enterprise (Washington, D.C.; American Federation of Teachers, Spring 1998).
29. For an analysis of management companies' curricula and instruction: their heavy reliance on inexperienced, first-year teachers; and the "inclusion" model as part of their overall business strategy, see Richards, Shore, and Sawicky, op. cit.; Nelson, op. cit.; and idem, Student Achievement in Edison Schools: Mixed Results in an Ongoing Enterprise (Washington, D.C.; American Federation of Teachers, Spring 1998).
30. The Massachusetts Charter School Initiative, p. 15.
31. Adrian Walker, "Conflicts of Interest Cited in Charter School Awards; Board Members Deny Opponents' Charge," Boston Globe, 28 February 1998, p. B-1; and Carolyn Ryan, "Ex-Gov. Aide to Cash In on Kids; Advisor Who Co-Wrote Law Gets Two School Charters," Boston Herald, 27 February 1998, p. A-1.
32. Adrian Walker, "Conflicts of Interest Cited in Charter School Awards; Board Members Deny Opponents' Charge," Boston Globe, 28 February 1998, p. B-1; and Carolyn Ryan, "Ex-Gov. Aide to Cash In on Kids; Advisor Who Co-Wrote Law Gets Two School Charters," Boston Herald, 27 February 1998, p. A-1.
33. Jordana Hart, "Outgoing Chief Blasts Ed. Board," Boston Globe, 1 July 1998, p. A-1.
34. Patrick Collins, "All in a Day's Work: Jeers, Cheers, and Changing Gears," Standard Times, 15 January 1997, p. A-1.
35. Coordinated Program Review: Boston Renaissance Charter School (Malden: Program Quality Assurance, Massachusetts Department of Education, September 1997).
36. "Charter School Technical Advisory: Subject Special Education," memorandum from Undersecretary Jim Peyser to charter schools and school superintendents, 25 July 1995.
37. For an example of the material produced by the State Charter School Office, see The Massachusetts Charter School Initiative.
38. For a discussion of the stratifying effects of school choice, see Gerald W. Bracey, "The Sixth Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education," Phi Delta Kappan, October 1996, pp. 129-31; and for a report exploring this issue in England, see Kathryn Stearns, School Reform: Lessons from England: A Special Report (Princeton, NJ.: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1996).
39. For a discussion of the stratifying effects of school choice, see Gerald W. Bracey, "The Sixth Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education," Phi Delta Kappan, October 1996, pp. 129-31; and for a report exploring this issue in England, see Kathryn Stearns, School Reform: Lessons from England: A Special Report (Princeton, NJ.: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1996).