Democracy Now!: Growing Charter School Chain Suspends Special Needs Kids in Bid to Raise Test Scores

[marmar]

Published on Aug 30, 2013

http://www.democracynow.org -Democracy Now! co-host Juan González discusses his reports for the New York Daily News about how one of the New York City's fastest growing chains of charter schools, Success Academy, has far higher suspension rates than other public elementary schools. "More than two dozen parents have come to me complaining about their children -- who are special needs, special education children, or children with behavior problems," González reports. "They feel are being pushed out or forced out by the charter school in an effort to to improve the test scores." Success Academy uses its high test scores to attract funding, and just secured a $5 million grant it will use to expand from 20 to 100 schools. González obtained a copy of secretly recorded meetings in which school administrators pressed one parent to transfer her special education kindergarten student back into the public school system.

[d_r]

1. a few comments here

1. I am glad that someone is talking about and documenting what we all "Knew" was going on with charter schools and the standardized testing craze.
2. It is disgusting. If anyone doubted that charter schools were in the business of taking money from the public schools while "picking and choosing" what students to educate and leaving the public schools with the kids who have more difficult situations, this pretty clearly shows it.
3. District 75 in NYC public schools is 100% special ed., there are no inclusion classrooms, it is all CDC classrooms. This is for children with severe needs.
4. As horrible as it is, the Charter school has an out here, in terms of IDEA and "access to a free and appropriate public education." The IDEA applies to DISTRICTS not individual schools. They simply have to argue that the school is not the child's least restrictive environment in the district. As long as the district provides services to the child, IDEA is met.
5. Do not kid yourself in to thinking that this is purely a tactic of charter schools. In public schools it is happening as well, with schools that have the high test scores pressuring students with disabilities and students with behavioral issues into home school and in to CDC classrooms at other public schools.

[Mnemosyne]

2. Our schools here are tossing many of the poorer kids into one school too. Disgusting. nt

[d_r]

7. yes you are right

and with SES goes race and ethnicity. Our schools are becoming more segregated.

[BrotherIvan]

3. You are so right on all counts

And would like to add, that this is yet another reason why funding based on test scores is a very bad idea.

[d_r]

8. Yes it is.

Thank you.

[Thav]

4. Sent this on to my state rep.

She is ranking member of the ed committee.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

5. Fucking disgusting. nt

[jwirr]

6. For years parochial schools have not allowed enrollment of special ed children. This does not

surprise me. It was the way they could claim they were better than public schools. What they really are is undemocratic. They do not include all people.

[mainstreetonce]

9. This is why

the concept of charter schools is not valid.

[jwirr]

12. Exactly.

[sulphurdunn]

13. And that's their business

so long as they receive no public money. When they do, it's the public's business. Somehow, thanks to our political whores, a situation has developed where we give public money to private schools but do not hold them to the same standards as public schools. This includes charter schools, which are de facto private schools, masquerading as public schools.

[Hydra]

10. Oh, look!

Capitalism shown not to work better for anything other than exploiting people...again!

Another huge failure by this Admin. Reagan was NOT right. Quit resurrecting him.

[AnneD]

11. This is what we have argued about....

every time they try to expand charters. A public school has to accept the kids that come through our doors and we are held to Federal Laws. The charters cherry pick the students and basically defund the public schools. We have had student kicked out of charters in the weeks leading up to testing. It boosts their scores and we are stuck with the hit (and little or no money to repair the damage). I am so glad my education career is winding down.