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Newswire: June 26, 2012

Vol. 14, No. 26

ALL IS NOT WELL. Delusion is rampant among the status quo when it comes to the state of American education. In Idaho, they fought to get on the November ballot three referenda that, if passed, will annihilate Superintendent Tom Luna’s sweeping reform efforts that could bring about a quality education for all students in the state. As the Wall Street Journal aptly notes, a state like Idaho doesn’t fit the “familiar education narrative of inner-city hopelessness. “That’s where the delusion kicks in. CER’s Jeanne Allen compares Idaho’s attempt to block reform to the Lake Wobegon effect. “In states like this, the assumption is all is well. The reality is they’ve been simply going through the motions for years, and the result is a kind of Third World education status. “Incredibly, after international report after international report, some in Idaho continue to believe in the myth of their grand success. For a reality test, read the Atlantic on Stanford economist Eric Hanushek and colleagues’ study.

NEW JERSEY’S OPPORTUNITY. E3, and others, are pushing for passage of the New Jersey Opportunity Scholarship Act, a pilot corporate tax credit bill designed to fund scholarships for low-income students attending the state’s lowest performing and chronically failing public schools. The battle is furious and your support is needed now so students can quickly transfer from dysfunctional schools to ones that will put them on track to a successful future in college and the world of work. New Jersey can redeem itself by passing this bill after bowing to status quo pressure and sidestepping seniority reform.

LYNCH’S LOSER MOVE. Muttering something about how New Hampshire’s voucher bill would be available to families regardless of their income, Governor Lynch vetoes the bill. Apparently someone actually read the bill and a few

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GAO report: Charter schools underserve special needs students

by Dave Murray
Grand Rapids Press
June 21, 2012

Charter schools serve fewer special education students than traditional schools according to a Government Accountability Office, though Michigan educators said countywide, specialized programs and parental choices likely make for the difference.

The federal report released this week indicated that about 8 percent of the students in charter schools nationally are disabled or require special services. That’s compared to 11 percent of the students in traditional schools. Data is from the 2009-2010 school year.

The GAO recommends that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan “take measures to help charter schools recognize practices that may affect enrollment of students with disabilities” by updating existing directives and researching why the levels are different.

But the leader of a school choice advocacy group said the GAO’s report is incomplete and flawed. Allen noted that there are 5,700 charter schools in the country and GAO staff visited 13.

“GAO’s attempt to draw conclusions about enrollment of students with special needs in charter schools was a waste of resources,” said Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform, in a release.

“The GAO report, by the agency’s own admission, fails to meet fundamental and rudimentary research standards. It is based wholly on anecdotal snapshots of a limited number of schools and states.”

The federal agency indicated it prepared the report after being asked about the enrollment differences, how charter schools reach out the students with disabilities and what services the schools provide.

The GAO also considered the role federal and state education departments play in overseeing the schools and their special needs programs.

“Charter schools enrolled a lower percentage of students with disabilities than traditional districts, but little is known about the factors contributed to these differences,” the report reads.

The report considers that charter schools are schools of choice, and it’s possible that parents of disabled

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