Special Education and Oregon Charter Schools

1. Special Education and Oregon Charter Schools May 2012 oregon department of education

2. Oregon Charter Schools • ALL Oregon charter schools are public schools. • ALL Oregon charter schools, including virtual or online charter schools, are public schools.

3. What is a public charter school? • “A public charter school means an elementary or secondary school offering a comprehensive instructional program operating under a written agreement entered into between a sponsor and an applicant and operating pursuant to this chapter.“ • [ORS Chapter 338]

4. 2011 Legislative Changes • District in which charter school is located is responsible for special education; • Specifies that charter schools may not discriminate based on IEPs; • Requires notification of parental resident district when child enrolls; AND • District in which charter school is located is considered the resident district!

5. Special EducationWhich District Is Responsible? • District in which the charter school is located is responsible for FAPE without regard to: • whether the charter school is a virtual, a hybrid, or a brick and mortar school. • Where the student or parent lives. FAPE - Free and Appropriate Public Education

6. Child Find & Referrals for Evaluation District in which the charter school is located is responsible for: • Child Find; • Referrals for evaluation and reevaluation; • Evaluation of students in district schools (including charter schools); • Procedural safeguards and notices.

7. Special Education andRelated Services (IDEA) District must serve children with disabilities attending those charter schools in the same manner as the LEA serves children with disabilities in its other schools, including providing supplementary and related services on site at the charter school to the same extent to which the LEA has a policy or practice of providing such services on the site to its other public schools.

8. Meet Your New Resident Students • Under the new legislation and new OARs, districts in which charter schools are located are the new “resident district;” • New resident district performs all special education requirements previously done by parental resident district.

9. Who Chooses the Charter School? • Parents/guardians • Interdistricttransfer agreements or open enrollment do not apply to charter schools.

10. Who Can Enroll In an Oregon Charter School? • Any child who lives in Oregon.... • Who meets the age requirements….

11. When the Student with a Disability under IDEA Enrolls • When a student with an IEP from another Oregon school district enrolls in a charter school, the district in which the charter is located must • Provide all required notices; and • In consultation with the parent, provide FAPE until the district: • Adopts the IEP as written; • Develops, adopts and implements a new IEP.

12. When Student with Disability under IDEA Enrolls.... • Charter school requests student records from previous district;* • Charter school notifies new resident district - the district in which the charter school is located - concerning a student eligible under IDEA; • District and charter school provide FAPE; and • District responsible for FAPE and providing services. *Attention to IDEA/FERPA confidentiality terms

13. Charter School Responsibilities Implementing the IEP • Charter school staff must • have access to the IEP; • be informed of any particular responsibility they have for implementing the IEP provisions in the same way any regular classroom teacher is informed of implementation requirements. • This is a regular education responsibility.

14. District “Stand Ready” Does Not Apply • A child enrolled in a charter school is attending a public school and the resident district is responsible for services or for ending eligibility, if appropriate. • Districts may not release or drop students from services by sending a notice that the District “stands ready to provide FAPE when the student re-enrolls in the district” - even when the parents do not want special education services for a child.