Charting the course of special education in Texas' Charter Schools.

Charting the course of special education in Texas' Charter Schools. Abstract Amidst the call for school choice and the popularity of charterschools lie the realities of students with disabilities, and federaldisability laws designed to ensure those students an appropriateeducation. Despite state deregulation DeregulationThe reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry.Notes:Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. , charter schools are subject toall of the mandates of federal disability law, including the Individualswith Disabilities Education Act This article or section is currently being developed or reviewed.Some statements may be disputed, incorrect, , biased or otherwise objectionable. (IDEA). Yet, are these schools enrollingstudents with disabilities, and if so, are they fulfilling the mandatesof law and providing students the education they deserve? This articlepresents results of a 2001 study of Texas' charter schools thataddresses these questions. ********** School choice as a movement and public charter schools as a form ofchoice have proliferated since the first charter school opened inMinnesota in 1991 (Nathan, 1996; Parkay & Stanford, 1998).Thirty-eight states have adopted legislation providing for charterschools (Sandham, 2001), which operated in 36 states and the District ofColumbia District of Columbia,federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). during 2002-2003 (Center for Education Reform, 2003).Envisioned to improve education through marketplace accountability andlessened bureaucratic bu��reau��crat?n.1. An official of a bureaucracy.2. An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure.bu controls, these schools vary in mission andappeal. Some target students from specific cultures (Levin, 1999; Rhim& McLaughlin, 1999; Toch, 1998), some reach students at risk offailure or dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human (Estes, 2001), some provide a college preparatorycurriculum, and some offer a "back to basics" approach (R.Rothstein, 1998, p. 3). Still others serve students with specificdisabilities (U.S. Department of Education, 1997). Amidst the call for school choice and the popularity of charterschools lie the realities of students with disabilities, and federaldisability laws designed to ensure those students an appropriateeducation. Despite state deregulation, charter schools are subject toall of the mandates of federal disability law, including the 1997amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).Yet, are public charter schools fulfilling these mandates and providingtheir students with disabilities the education they deserve? The Texas Charter School Movement Texas' charter statute, the nation's seventh strongestaccording to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. the Center for Education Reform (2001), was adopted in1995. The first 20 schools opened during 1996-97, and by August of 2001,180 charters were operational (Charter School Resource Center of Texas,2001). The Texas statute allows for the issuance of charters to fourtypes of sponsoring entities, but the "vast majority have gone totax-exempt nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive.Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. corporations with no ties to local schooldistricts" (Charter School Resource Center of Texas, p.4; F.Kemerer, personal communication, June, 1999). Texas' openenrollment charter schools operate as independent local educationagencies, and as such are fully responsible for all of the servicesprovided by the larger, more experienced school districts. Under statelaw, professional certification Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure that he/she is qualified to perform a job or task. is not a requirement for those who teachin the public charter schools, nor is a college degree [Texas EducationCode, Section 12.129, TEA, 2001]. Individuals who desire to open a charter school in Texas mustsubmit an application to the Texas Education Agency (TEA). According tothe State Board of Education (2000), The Division of Charter Schoolswithin TEA reviews the application and forwards it to a pool of externalreviewers who award points based on plans to provide for innovation,student performance, parental/community support, personnelqualifications, minimal impact on local schools, and finances. Onlythose applications meeting the board established minimum score of 150 ofa possible 200 points are subsequently reviewed by TEA staffrepresenting the divisions of charter schools, school audits, legalservices legal servicesn. the work performed by a lawyer for a client. , student support services support servicesPsychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services , and "other divisions, asappropriate to determine whether applications meet the statutoryrequirements and criteria adopted" by the State Board of Education(State Board of Education, p. 9). The board then chooses to conductpublic hearings to determine parental and/or community support, or togrant or deny approval for the proposed charter. Section 12.104(F),"Applicability of Title," of the Texas Education Code (TEA,2001) reminds chartering entities that they must provide specialeducation programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29 of the code mandatingimplementation of the IDEA. Although there are no paragraphs specific tocharter schools, technical assistance is provided through TEA and theregional education service centers. Characteristics of Charter Schools Charter schools are often small and may offer distinctivecurricula. Proponents tout ToutTo promote a security in order to attract buyers.toutTo foster interest in a particular company or security. For example, a broker might tout a security to a client in the hope that the client will purchase the security. them as combining the advantages of publicand private schooling by offering reduced student/teacher ratios andinnovative practices; yet, they are taxpayer financed (Finn, Bierlein,& Manno, 1996; Nathan, 1996). They may operate in storefronts,office complexes, former homes, detention centers, or hospitals (Estes,2001), and observers report an unusual degree of parental involvement(Blakemore, 1998; Bomotti, Ginsberg, & Cobb, 1999; Carruthers, 1998;Nathan). Some schools' curricula imposes selectivity selectivity/se��lec��tiv��i��ty/ (se-lek-tiv��i-te) in pharmacology, the degree to which a dose of a drug produces the desired effect in relation to adverse effects. selectivity1. on enrollment.For example, if the purpose of the school is college preparation,schools in some states may require a valid IQ of 130 or better (Estes,2001; McLaughlin, Henderson, & Ullah, 1996). Students with Disabilities in Charter Schools Researchers have found that parents of students with disabilitiesare seeking choice, and for the same reasons as other parents. Mentionedwere characteristics of the school (Carruthers, 1998; Fiore, Harwell,Blackorby, & Finnegan, 2000; Lange & Lehr, 2000; Lange &Ysseldyke, 1998), underlying philosophy of the charter, indicators ofschool success (Carruthers; Fiore, Harwell, et al.), discipline (Lange& Lehr), support for unique needs, safety, a new teaching staff, a"fresh start," and special services (Fiore, Harwell, et al.;Lange & Ysseldyke). The majority of students with disabilitiesattending charter schools have specific learning disabilities and/orbehavioral concerns (McLaughlin & Henderson, 1998; McLaughlin,Henderson, & Ullah, 1996). Expertise in special services. If students with disabilities attendcharter schools, as reported, they deserve appropriate services.Advocates, educators, and researchers have expressed concerns regardingthe provision of special education (e.g., Glascock, Robertson, &Coleman, 1997; Lange, 1997; McLaughlin & Henderson, 1998; Vernal vernal/ver��nal/ (ver��n'l) pertaining to or occurring in the spring. ,1995). An early study by the Education Commission of the States The Education Commission of the States (ECS) was founded as a result of the creation of the Compact for Education, supported by all 50 states and approved by Congress in 1965. The original idea of establishing an interstate compact on education and creating an operational arm to follow up (1995)reported that charter school directors in seven states felt unpreparedto accept students with disabilities. Particularly challenging tonewly-opened schools were special education forms, funding, andprocedures (Education Commission of the States, 1995; Estes, 2001;McLaughlin & Henderson, 1998). Twenty-eight percent of schooldirectors surveyed by the National Education Association (1998) feltunprepared to serve students requiring special services, in 1996,regular classroom teachers were expected to meet the needs of allstudents, and 5% of those with special needs lacked individualized in��di��vid��u��al��ize?tr.v. in��di��vid��u��al��ized, in��di��vid��u��al��iz��ing, in��di��vid��u��al��iz��es1. To give individuality to.2. To consider or treat individually; particularize.3. education programs (Finn, Manno, & Bierlein, 1996.) Lange (1997)wrote that many charter schools were opening their doors without aformal plan in place to serve students with special needs. An article appearing in the October 25, 1996 issue of The SpecialEducator suggested that charter school operators were unaware of theirobligations under the law, and that they would continue to be so untillitigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute.When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. or complaints to the Office of Civil Rights focused moreattention on special education issues (Charter Schools and Special EdLaw, 1996). Fiore, Warren and Cashman (1999) wrote that becauserelatively few charter operators are trained educational administrators,they may not be "conversant CONVERSANT. One who is in the habit of being in a particular place, is said to be conversant there. Barnes, 162. with the requirements of IDEA or otherfederal disability law" (U.S. Department of Education, 1998, p. 2;Vernal, 1995). The technical skills necessary to the implementation ofthe IDEA are not trivial, and it is critical that states providesufficient assistance (Blanchette, 1997; Charter Schools and Special EdLaw). In August of 2000, the results of an informal survey mailed to 30directors of charter schools in north Texas were published in Educationand Treatment of Children. A questionnaire mailed to 30 directors ofcharter schools in north Texas and based on the 1998-1999 academic year,this survey asked directors nine simple questions: the grade levelsserved by their schools, the total number of students enrolled, thenumber of special education students, the number of teachers, the numberof certified special educators, the number of other special educationpersonnel (i.e., diagnosticians, speech pathologists, etc.), and thespecial education eligibility of students. Sixteen charter schooldirectors representing 17 schools and 3700 students responded that atleast 280 students with disabilities were enrolled; however, 5 of theschools enrolled fewer than 5 students with special needs. Of 190 totalteachers, only 16 were certified special educators. Six schools hired nocertified special education teachers; yet at least 50 students withvarious disabilities (i.e., learning disabilities, speech/languageimpairments, emotional/behavioral disorders, mental retardation mental retardation,below average level of intellectual functioning, usually defined by an IQ of below 70 to 75, combined with limitations in the skills necessary for daily living. ,orthopedic disabilities, and other health impairments) were enrolled inthose 6 schools. Between 16-20 students with disabilities were reportedin 1 of those 6 schools, 25-50 were enrolled in another, and 10 or fewerstudents with disabilities attended the other 4 schools. The finalquestion posed was, "Do you feel your school was prepared to meetthe needs of your special education population?" Ten respondentsreplied they felt prepared and 5 directors admitted they did not. Oneschool's director did not answer that particular question, and oneanswering "yes," added, "with reservations" (Estes,2000). These results posed additional questions. What percentage ofTexas' charter schools were serving students with disabilities, andwhat percentage of the schools' student bodies were actuallystudents with disabilities? More troubling, since (a) some respondentsfelt unprepared to serve students with special needs, and (b) sixschools had no certified special educators, were those students enrollededucated appropriately, and according to the requirements of the IDEA? Method Quantitative Data Collection The study sought to ascertain the extent to which students withdisabilities were accessing Texas' charter schools, and to reviewservice provision based on staff expertise and compliance with law. Todetermine access, the researcher turned to Texas' Public EducationInformation Management System (PEIMS PEIMS Public Education Information Management System (State Department of Educaction, Texas)), a statewide database ofinformation deemed necessary for the legislature and TEA to"perform their legally authorized functions in overseeing publiceducation" (Texas Education Agency, 2000a, p.1). All localeducation agencies, including charter schools, are required to submitinformation annually concerning student demographics, academicperformance, personnel, finances, and organization to PEIMS (TexasEducation Agency). Two documents were requested and retrieved: (a) Texas Public SchoolDistricts including Charter Schools, Disabled Students Receiving SpecialEducation Services by Disability and Age, Fall 1999-2000 PEIMS Data(Texas Education Agency, 2000b), and (b) Texas Public School DistrictsIncluding Charter Schools, Student Enrollment by Grade, Sex, andEthnicity, Fall 1999-2000 PEIMS Data (Texas Education Agency, 2000c).The data, as reported on December 1, 1999, were limited to 142 activeschools. Quantitative analysis Quantitative AnalysisA security analysis that uses financial information derived from company annual reports and income statements to evaluate an investment decision.Notes: . With these two reports, it was reasoned thata percentage of students with disabilities enrolled in Texas'charter schools could be readily calculated by dividing the number ofstudents with disabilities per school, by the total number of studentsenrolled. By combining data, it was assumed that regional and statewidepercentages could also be derived. The first report, Texas Public SchoolDistricts including Charter Schools, Disabled Students Receiving SpecialEducation Services by Disability and Age, Fall 1999-2000 PEIMS Data(Texas Education Agency, 2000b), enumerated This term is often used in law as equivalent to mentioned specifically, designated, or expressly named or granted; as in speaking of enumerated governmental powers, items of property, or articles in a tariff schedule. specific disabilities; thus,the researcher assumed that information would be readily available, aswell. Qualitative Data Collection To examine expertise in programming and the requirements of law,the researcher conducted six in-depth interviews with charter schooladministrators. Participants included two special education directors,(one responsible for two campuses, the other for multiple schools), twoheadmasters, two principals, and one assistant principal/director ofspecial education. One administrator's school was located in arural locale, two oversaw o��ver��saw?v.Past tense of oversee. suburban schools, and others worked in urbanenvironments. All of the schools studied were within one hour of theDallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. No schools were specificallychartered to serve students with disabilities, and none had cooperativeagreements with local school districts. The interviews ranged from 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 45minutes in length. Each was audiotaped and transcribed, and eachparticipant was offered the opportunity to review his/her transcript foraccuracy. Two interviewees requested changes to their transcribedremarks. Participants. The first person interviewed was a university trainedformer public school administrator who, at the time of the study, washeadmaster of a school with two campuses and a combined enrollment ofapproximately 300 students in suburban Dallas/Fort Worth. One campusserved children from relatively affluent homes in grades K-5. The otherserved urban middle school students (grades 6-9), of white,African-American, Hispanic, and Middle Eastern descent. The second headmaster had twenty years TWENTY YEARS. The lapse of twenty years raises a presumption of certain facts, and after such a time, the party against whom the presumption has been raised, will be required to prove a negative to establish his rights. 2. experience in private schooleducation, and was at the time of the interview responsible for a K-6"academy" that emphasized environmental studies and waslocated on 20 wooded acres. Most of his approximately 230 students werethe children of white urban professionals. This school began as aprivate school founded by a special educator to serve students withlearning disabilities. Interview three was with the principal of a charter school locatedin a small town south of Dallas/Fort Worth. Founded and governed by aspecific Christian ministry, the school enrolled almost 240 raciallydiverse students in pre-kindergarten through 10th grade, at least 25% ofwhom met criteria for "at-risk of dropping out of school,"according to the Texas Education Code, Chapter 29, Subchapter C (TEA,1998). The fourth interview was held with two individuals, the principaland the assistant principal/special education director of an inner cityschool. This school's approximately 125 students were 94%African-American and 6% Hispanic. Chartered as an "at-riskschool," meaning that at least 75% of students met at-riskcriteria, it enrolled students in grades 9-12. The fifth interview was held with the special education director ofan at-risk "dropout recovery" school with two campuses, eachwith fewer than 200 students. Students on one campus were frompredominantly white "working class" homes, and the othercampus was largely Hispanic. This school targeted previouslyunsuccessful secondary-aged students and offered a self-paced curriculumin which students completed course packets to fulfill graduationrequirements. A former public school special educator functioning as specialeducation director for a nonprofit corporation nonprofit corporationn. an organization incorporated under state laws and approved by both the state's Secretary of State and its taxing authority as operating for educational, charitable, social, religious, civic or humanitarian purposes. of 14 charter schools wasthe last to be interviewed. Her schools included Montessori preschools,hospital schools, schools affiliated with churches, and secondarydropout recovery schools that ranged in enrollment from 10-20 studentsto over 200. Procedures. The following research questions attempted to addressissues of expertise and compliance with the law: "To what extentare students with disabilities who desire to attend public charterschools in north Texas assured a free, appropriate public education inthe least restrictive environment As part of the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the least restrictive environment is identified as one of the six principles that govern the education of students with disabilities. ?" "To what extent areappropriate assessments performed?" and "Are appropriateindividualized education programs (IEP IEPIn currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Irish Punt.Notes:The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ) developed from those assessmentsand/or existing records?" To that end, an interview guide wasdesigned that addressed those concerns, and included these specificquestions: 1. How well prepared do you feel your school is to serve studentswith mild disabilities (in terms of facility, personnel, resources)? 2. How prepared is your school to serve students with significantdisabilities (e.g. emotional/behavioral, orthopedic, or other disabilitythat might necessitate ne��ces��si��tate?tr.v. ne��ces��si��tat��ed, ne��ces��si��tat��ing, ne��ces��si��tates1. To make necessary or unavoidable.2. To require or compel. a self-contained classroom)? 3. In what ways are students served (i.e., by contract personnel,by school personnel, by agreement with the local school district)? 4. How confident do you feel that the services you provide areappropriate as required by federal mandates? 5. Tell me about the continuum of services provided by your school. 6. To whom do you turn for assistance with special educationissues? 7. Describe the manner in which students with pre-existing IEPsreceive recommended instructional modifications and related services? 8. Describe the pre-referral intervention procedures, referral andassessment procedures, procedures for developing IEPs and BehaviorIntervention Plans (BIP BIP - An incorrect singular of BIPS. One billion instructions per second is 1 BIPS, not 1 BIP. ). The researcher utilized an open-ended semi-structured interviewformat that facilitated the emergence of new avenues of inquiry (seeGall, Borg, & Gall, 1996; Glesne, 1999; Mahoney, 1997). "Depthprobes" (Frey & Oishi, 1995; Glesne, p. 93; Mahoney) wereincorporated that included "Tell me more," or "Anythingelse?" statements, strategically timed silences, and additionalquestions arising from participant comments (Frey & Oishi; Glesne,p. 87). Qualitative analysis Qualitative AnalysisSecurities analysis that uses subjective judgment based on nonquantifiable information, such as management expertise, industry cycles, strength of research and development, and labor relations. . The participants' comments were analyzedwith dtSearch (1998), available from DT Software, Inc., and recommendedfor qualitative research Qualitative researchTraditional analysis of firm-specific prospects for future earnings. It may be based on data collected by the analysts, there is no formal quantitative framework used to generate projections. (Gittelsohn, Pelto, Bentley, Bhattacharyya,& Jensen, 1998). To facilitate data reduction, an index ofapproximately 4,000 terms was created and scrutinized for relevance.Terms were then categorized cat��e��go��rize?tr.v. cat��e��go��rized, cat��e��go��riz��ing, cat��e��go��riz��esTo put into a category or categories; classify.cat to correspond with the research questions.For example, "identify," "assess," "refer"and "IEP," were 4 of 60 terms chosen to correspond with theresearch questions, "To what extent are appropriate assessmentsperformed?" and "Are appropriate IEPs developed from thoseassessments and/or existing records?" Concatenated data sets werethen compiled by combining the grouped terms and entering them in aseries of concept searches. Printing the references and their associatedtext (within 75 words) in relation to each research question facilitatedanalysis and the drawing of conclusions. Results State Database The researcher planned to answer the question regarding extent ofservice with data from PEIMS, but surprisingly, the data provedinconclusive INCONCLUSIVE. What does not put an end to a thing. Inconclusive presumptions are those which may be overcome by opposing proof; for example, the law presumes that he who possesses personal property is the owner of it, but evidence is allowed to contradict this presumption, and show who is . Administrators from only 92 of 142 schools reportedspecial education enrollment for 1999-2000 (T. Hitchcock, TEA, personalcommunication, September 12, 2000). This lack of reporting occurreddespite a policy requiring that students with disabilities be reported,and despite a loss of special education funding to those schools thatdid not report. Further complicating the analysis was an agency policystipulating that numbers fewer than five be "masked" (dashedlines appeared in the report in place of numerals, indicating studentswere enrolled but exact numbers were not revealed by the state), toensure confidentiality. A determination of special education enrollmentwas particularly problematic, therefore, because a number of smallschools (<100 students) enrolled fewer than five students withdisabilities. Given the limited data provided to TEA and subsequently tothe researcher, however, it was determined that approximately 8.6% ofstudents enrolled in Texas' charter schools during 1999-2000 hadidentified disabilities. For purposes of comparison, 12.3% of studentsenrolled in traditional public schools received services under the IDEA. This figure (8.6%) might be misleading unless one looked closely atindividual schools. Of the 92 schools reporting special educationstudents during 1999-2000, 19 reported fewer than 5 students withdisabilities, 20 reported fewer than 5% students with disabilities, and6 schools reported fewer than 2%. Almost 50% of schools reporting servedvery few students with disabilities. A small number of schools withunusually large numbers skewed skewedcurve of a usually unimodal distribution with one tail drawn out more than the other and the median will lie above or below the mean.skewedEpidemiology adjective Referring to an asymmetrical distribution of a population or of data the mean percentage; for example, theenrollment of students with disabilities in five charter schools wasabove 65%, with one school designed for students with hearingimpairments enrolling 87.2% students with disabilities. The policy of masking student counts lower than five also impededinterpretation by disability category. Examination of the data didreveal, however, that charter schools in Texas, as elsewhere (McLaughlin& Henderson, 1998; McLaughlin, Henderson, & Ullah, 1996)primarily served students with learning disabilities during 1999-2000.Also reported were students with emotional disorders, speechimpairments, other health impairments, mental retardation, and hearingimpairments (in descending order). Interviews Access. In addition to the questions pursuing degrees of expertiseand compliance, administrators were asked to describe their schools interms of student population (e.g., at-risk, minority, gifted, disabled),and to classify their students according to disability category.Students with disabilities were enrolled in all 20 schools represented,and ranged from 6.3% of the student population, as reported by the firstheadmaster interviewed, to 23% in the former private school for studentswith learning disabilities. Interestingly, this former private schoolturned out to be one of the 50 schools statewide that had not reportedspecial education numbers to PEIMS, despite two years of public charterstatus. Reasons given included a frustration with "bureaucratic redtape," and a hesitancy hes��i��tan��cyn.An involuntary delay or inability in starting the urinary stream. to incur the accompanying oversight. Typicalof statewide figures, the administrators reported that the vast majorityof their special education students had learning disabilities. Othercategories mentioned included emotional disorders, speech impairments,and mild mental retardation, but very few students with speechimpairments and mental retardation were reported. One administratormentioned a single student requiring large print textbooks, and the lastinterviewee stated she had a few "autistic autistic/au��tis��tic/ (aw-tis��tik) characterized by or pertaining to autism. in our hospital settingsfor very short periods of time." No students used wheelchairs.Unexpectedly, self-paced and self-directed secondary programs reportedgreater numbers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders than didtraditional academic formats. One administrator attributed this to ashortened school day (4 hours in most cases), and a structure providingfor little direct student/teacher interaction. Although the schools enrolled students with significant emotionaldisorders, none of the schools enrolled students with significantdevelopmental delay. One headmaster admitted that he "didn'tknow what he would do" if a student with moderate or severe mentalretardation were to apply. However, none of the administrators reportedthey turned students away, and most seemed genuinely willing to acceptstudents with special needs. Indeed, all interviewees reported they initially accept allapplicants; however, 3 of 20 schools were inaccessible to wheelchairsand 3 of 7 administrators expelled students for misbehavior, withoutproviding services. It should be noted here that charter schools inTexas have "permission" to deny enrollment to students with ahistory of behavior problems (Texas Education Code, Section 12.111[6],TEA, 1998), and one school's charter provided for that. Because theIDEA as amended in 1997 requires that public schools provide services tostudents for whom there is a suspected disability (34 C.F.R.?[subsection] 300.527 [b]), and students with a history of behavioralincidents may be exhibiting symptoms of emotional disorders, this raisesserious questions concerning the legality le��gal��i��ty?n. pl. le��gal��i��ties1. The state or quality of being legal; lawfulness.2. Adherence to or observance of the law.3. A requirement enjoined by law. Often used in the plural. of this clause in the Texasstatute. Expertise and compliance. Levels of expertise and compliance weremuch more difficult to ascertain than levels of access, which involvednumbers. All but one administrator asserted they were well prepared toserve students with all levels of disabilities, but most were anxious topresent a positive image of their school(s). Answers to specificquestions revealed varying levels of knowledge of the law. Questions of expertise concerned one of the founding principles ofthe IDEA: a free appropriate public education (FAPE FAPE Free Appropriate Public EducationFAPE Families and Advocates Partnership for EducationFAPE Fund for Assistance to Private Education (Makati City, the Philippines)FAPE Florida Association of Partners in Education ). Fiedler and Prasse(1996) and the U.S. Department of Education (1997) defined FAPE in termsof a legally designed IEP. In Texas, the IEP meeting is designated anAdmission, Review, and Dismissal meeting (ARD Ard(ärd), in the Bible.1 Son of Benjamin.2 Benjamite, perhaps the same as (1.) An alternate form is Addar. ). All but one of theadministrators indicated that in their school, IEPs were developedwithin a legally held ARD meeting. The administrator who indicatedotherwise was actively recruiting an educational diagnostician toperform and interpret assessments, and reported an inability to proceedwith ARD meetings until one was found. Despite protestations, evidence of a wide variation in expertiseemerged in response to particular questions. Two of the administratorswere former directors of special education for local public schoolsystems, two were university trained administrators with experience intraditional public schools, one administrator was university trained buthad no public school experience prior to being hired by his school, andtwo were neither university trained nor former educators. As predictedby Fiore, Warren, and Cashman (1999) and Vernal (1995), this provedproblematic. Answers to the interview questions convinced the researcherof an association between degree of training and/or experience, andknowledge of special education and federal law. For example, when askedabout these components of the assessment/IEP process: pre-referralintervention, referral, assessment, behavior intervention plan, andindividualized education program In the United States an Individualized Education Program, commonly referred to as an IEP, is mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In Canada an equivalent document is called an Individual Education Plan. , only one interviewee stated withouthesitation that pre-referral intervention was performed. Three othersasserted the process had been described to their teachers, but impliedit was seldom implemented. Two individuals' schools did not attemptpre-referral intervention. In response to the question concerningreferral and assessment, all administrators stated students wereassessed for special education, but one administrator, whose backgroundwas business, acknowledged he lacked an understanding of requirements.Another gentleman was unfamiliar with the term, "behaviorintervention plan." Six administrators asserted that appropriate IEPs were developedand followed, and five of six remarked that behavior intervention planswere prepared and implemented. The administrator who was seeking anassessment specialist reported all referrals were "on hold,"and that his teachers would use pre-existing IEPs until one was found.One school had no formal referral process. Table 1 summarizes thefindings. In response to interview questions three through seven, twoadministrators reported they contracted with private educationaldiagnosticians and speech and language pathologists to provide someservices, but most attempted to meet all programming needs with existingstaff. All administrators, except the individual in search of anassessment specialist, alluded to a sense of confidence regardingfederal mandates. All reported they occasionally turn to others forassistance or advice, and specifically named private consultants and/orthe regional education service centers. All insisted student IEPs werefollowed as recommended within their schools' format of totalinclusion, which all utilized; none provided a continuum of placements.Typically, recommended curricular modifications included shortenedassignments, additional time for assignment completion, and reducedamounts of homework. Discussion and Implications According to Kemerer and Walsh (1996), least restrictiveenvironment (LRE LRE Long-Reach EthernetLRE Least Restrictive EnvironmentLRE Law-Related EducationLRE Long Range Ethernet (Cisco)LRE Launch and Recovery ElementLRE Latest Revised EstimateLRE Lead Responsible EngineerLRE Low Bit-Rate Encoding ), another cornerstone of the IDEA, requires that theplacement of the student allows for interaction with nondisabled peersto the greatest extent appropriate in light of the nature and severityof the disability. IDEA stipulates a full continuum of alternativeplacements (34 C.F.R.[section]300.551[1999]; Fuchs & Fuchs, 1995;Hallahan & Kauffman, 1995; Kauffman, 1997; Lewis & Doorlag,1999; Maloney, 1995). As mentioned, all twenty schools operated within afull inclusion format and none maintained a continuum, although twodirectors stated they were prepared to initiate a more restrictiveenvironment if one were "needed." Since all students withspecial needs interacted with nondisabled students 100% of the day,perhaps it may be assumed that the mandate for LRE was met. Whether thefull inclusion model provides a format whereby the mandate for FAPE ispossible, however, is open to debate (see Bateman, 1994; Hallahan &Kauffman, 1995; Lerner, 2000). The IDEA calls for the IEP (ARD)committee to consider the needs of the child and make an individualizedplacement decision based on those needs. Individualized placementdecisions can be made only when there is a variety of placement optionsfrom which to select (Bateman, 1994; Hallahan & Kauffman, 1995;Lerner, 2000; Morse, 1994; Rimland Rimland is the maritime fringe of a country or continent; in particular, the densely populated western, southern, and eastern edges of the Eurasian continent.According to Nicholas John Spykman, who revisited Halford Mackinder's concepts of geopolitics, the Rimland is that , 1995). As discussed, a wide variability in knowledge of special educationprocedures was revealed through the interviews. As predicted(Blanchette, 1997; Estes, 2000; Fiore, Warren et al., 1999; Vernal,1995), those with experience in traditional public education felt atease with IDEA requirements, particularly those with a background inspecial education, and their answers confirmed that. Otheradministrators' answers demonstrated they knew little of the law orits requirements. Associated with questions of expertise are questions of appropriateplacement. Many feel that an individualized placement is necessary tothe fulfillment of appropriate individualized educational goals(Bateman, 1994; Hallahan & Kauffman, 1995; Lerner, 2000). It must beremembered, however, that charter schools are schools of choice.Presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. , parents enroll their children in these schools because theywant them to receive the type of educational programming that isoffered. It is my hope that they are fully informed. Do these findings have applicability beyond Texas? Although most ofthe schools represented in the interviews were within a 100 mile radiusof Dallas/Fort Worth, the concerns discussed were universal, asevidenced by the literature. Seven participants constituted a smallsample, yet the nature of qualitative research involves derivingin-depth information from a small number of participants (Silverman,2001). Rubin and Rubin (1995) wrote that the goal of such a study shouldnot be generalizability, but rather completeness [italics added], inwhich the work is continued until the necessary information is obtained."Sometimes interviewing one very well informed person is all thatis necessary.... What is important is not how many people you talked to,but whether the answer works" (p. 73). It is the researcher'sopinion that the answers obtained to questions concerning compliancewith federal law are pertinent to charter schools throughout thecountry. However, without sufficient information regarding schools andstatutes in other states, a convincing case cannot be made forapplicability of these results beyond Texas. Therefore, additionalresearch is recommended. School choice is a reality hailed by parents and policymakersalike. However, if an appropriate education within a choice context isavailable to some, it must be available to all students. Children andadolescents with special needs and their parents have a right not onlyto equal access, but also to quality, comprehensive, and effectivespecial education programming within the choice setting.Table 1Assessment/IEP Interview Interview Interview Interview 1 2 3 4Pre-referralintervention * X XReferral X X XAssessment # X X * XBIP X X XIEP ** X X X Interview Interview 5 6Pre-referralintervention * X * XReferral X XAssessment X XBIP X XIEP X XX Indicates that the interviewee described the process.* Indicates the process has been explained to the teachers, but eitherhas not been imple-mented, or the interviewee admitted it is poorlyunderstood.# Indicates that the headmaster was seeking an educationaldiagnostician to conduct assessments.** Indicates that the pre-existing IEP was utilized because there wasno assessment specialist available. References Bateman, B. D. (1994). 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Charter schools and studentswith disabilities: Review of existing data. Washington, DC: Author.Retrieved May 19, 2000, from http://ed.gov/PDFDocs/chart_disab.pdf Vernal, S. (1995) Problems faced by existing charter schools.Education Policy Analysis Archives, 3(13). Retrieved May 17, 2000, fromhttp://olam.ed.asu.edu/epaa/v3n13/problems.html Address: Dr. Mary Bailey Mary Bailey may refer to: Mary Bailey (aviatrix), winner of the 1927 Harmon Trophy Mary Bailey (Jericho character), character from the television series Jericho Mary Bailey, the name of the Governor from the television series Estes, Programs in Special Education,University of North Texas, P.O. Box 310860, Denton, TX 76203.