Education Week just posted an article written by Arianna Prothero in regards to special education services in New Orleans charter schools. Post-Katrina, the Recovery Schools District essentially took over the public school district and converted all of the schools to charters. This process was very controversial at the time, and echoes to the present day. While Delaware has some of these implementations in place already, more needs to be done.
In 2010, parents filed a lawsuit against the charter school district in regards to special education and discrimination. A settlement was reached in December.
“The settlement puts in place an independent monitor to make sure New Orleans schools are following the law. Among the terms: schools will be randomly audited, the state will create a plan to ensure all children with disabilities are identified and charters must lay out special education services in their renewal applications.
[Judge Jay] Zainey called the plan ‘very fair, very well-thought-out,’ and praised both sides for working in good faith to help children, saying the work ‘makes me proud to be a lawyer.’ “
To read more about this settlement, please go to: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/charterschoice/2015/02/a_new_orleans_federal_judge.html
The Season Of Myths 