New York State Special Education Enrollment Analysis

This November 2012 report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education compares and analyzes enrollment of special education students in certain districts and charter schools in New York. The report provides comparisons based on a variety of factors, including by school type and authorizer.

The report’s findings include that “charter middle and high school enrollments are indistinguishable from district enrollments” of special education students, while “fewer students with disabilities enroll in charter elementary schools as compared to district-run elementary schools.” The report states that enrollments involve many variables and that a “qualitative investigation into the real-life experiences of students with disabilities and their families in both charter and district-run schools” is “critical to understanding how policies and oversight practices can best promote equitable access to all public schools.”