High Expense: Disability Severity and Charter School Attendance in Arizona

Abstract

Much of the literature related to the skimming or cropping of students by charter schools has ignored special education students. This article examines the relationship between the severity of student disabilities and their likelihood of having attended an Arizona charter school in the 2002-2003 school year. After adjusting for student traits, local education agency characteristics, and the mix of available special education services, a multilevel logistic regression analysis suggests that students who had more severe and thus more expensive disabilities were less likely to attend an Arizona charter school. Findings from an ancillary set of hierarchical linear models suggested that special education students enrolled in charter schools were less expensive on average than similar traditional public-school special education students.

A Longitudinal Comparison of Enrollment Patterns of Students Receiving Special Education in Urban Neighborhood and Charter Schools

“…This is not only the case in CPS. Garcy (2011) found that, in Arizona, students with severe disabilities were less likely to attend charter schools and those "students with more severe disabilities who were enrolled in charter schools were on average less expensive than those students enrolled in TPS [neighborhood schools]" (p. 19). On the other hand, differences found between grade levels in the proportions of students with ID and SI (see Table 3) indicate that the hypothesis of cropping off services for SRSE has stronger support at the elementary school level.…”

“…Five main conclusions can be drawn from examining research on the enrollment of SRSE in charter schools. First, the bulk of this research has been disseminated through policy reports sponsored by think tanks and state agencies, while a very small number of studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals (Garcy, 2011). Think tanks tend to be polarized on the issue of charter schools with those in support often receiving funding from foundations that support charter schools expansion (e.g., Gates Foundation; Walton Foundation).…”

Can Charter Schools Address Racial Inequities Evidenced in Access to the General Education Classroom? A Longitudinal Study in Chicago Public Schools

“…The author used a multilevel logistic regression analysis adjusting for student and school district characteristics, and available special education services in the district. Garcy (2011) found, among other demographic differences, that charter schools in Arizona enrolled significantly lower proportions of students with more severe and expensive disabilities than NS. Similarly, Wilkens (2011) studied the special education enrollment in the 2009-2010 school year in Massachusetts’s urban charter schools.…”

“…Studies at the state and city level, using more sophisticated statistical methods, confirm national-level findings. Garcy (2011) conducted a study in Arizona with data from the 2002-2003 school year. The author used a multilevel logistic regression analysis adjusting for student and school district characteristics, and available special education services in the district.…”

School choice or the politics of desperation? Black and Latinx parents of students with dis/abilities selecting charter schools in Chicago

“…Despite the growth of charter schools, research on students with dis/abilities attending such schools has been limited in breadth and depth (Garcy, 2011;Waitoller, Maggin, & Trzaska, in press). This limited research has mostly been published in non-peer-reviewed outlets (e.g., reports from think tanks, governmental, and advocacy groups) and has presented contradictory findings.…”