Cyber Charters and Special Education

• In Event: Chartering New Territory: Cyber Schools, Charter Schools, and Virtual Special Education—Pitfalls, Obstacles, Dilemmas, and Solutions

Abstract

Charter schools must abide by federal special education laws and regulations because they are part of the public education system. However, the means through which compliance is carried out differs in practice than on paper, but most due to a number of factors, the most important of which are a charter school's legal identity and its linkage to a traditional Local Education Agency (LEA) for purposes of special education (Estes, 2009; Fiore et al., 2000; Horn and Miron, 2000). Familiarity with these concepts is critical, especially for a cyber charter school. An LEA is usually defined as an entity that has responsibility for the education of all children who reside within a designated geographical area of a state. Cyber Charter schools do not completely fit into this definition since they are schools of choice and have responsibility for students who are enrolled in the school from across the state and in some instances, the country. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its regulations specifically include charter schools in the definition of an LEA: "a public charter school that is established as an LEA under State law" [34 CFR §300.18]. However, there exist a number of nuances interwoven with understanding a cyber charter school's level of responsibility for special education.

This presentation focuses on the uniqueness of Cyber Charter schools and their use of innovative technologies that assist them to function as their own local education agencies. However, since cyber charters can also be authorized and operate under some other entity, oftentimes a remote educational management organization, (EMO) this makes the education of students with special needs that much more complex (Rhim & McLaughlin, 2001). Most states have clear guidelines and “strong laws,” that support charter school autonomy and independence and allow them to determine the best means to properly educate students, especially those with identified special education needs consistent with IDEA. However, status is not always clearly delineated and a cyber charter school's legal status for special education may be different from its legal status for all other matters. Lastly, the role and function of providing a FAPE for identified students is typically done in the home, through live sessions using innovative technologies and through synchronous and asynchronous sessions via a teaching and learning platform consistent with distance education. How and to what degree do we know that these technologies are successful forms of delivery and instruction, become the essential question of this paper presentation.

Author

• Nicole Snyder, Latsha Davis & McKenna