'Whose Choice are We Talking About? The Exclusion of Students with Disabilities from For-Profit Online Charter Schools'

School choice is one of the primary education reforms currently sweeping the United States. School choice systems create unique challenges for students with disabilities and schools of choice in serving such students. While there are a variety of school choice systems, this chapter focuses on three types of school choice models—charter schools, portfolio school districts, and voucher programs—and the unique policy and legal challenges they present for students with disabilities. Specifically, this chapter examines the interplay of these school choice reforms with the United States laws regarding students with disabilities: the Individuals with Education in Disabilities Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The challenges, barriers and problems are examined and solutions are proposed that consider both the laws regarding students with disabilities and the structures of the choice programs.

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The Next Frontier in Public Education

Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in Virtual Worlds and Environments ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-762-3.ch013 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 255-269

Author(s):

Belinda M. Cambre

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

School Choice ◽

Charter Schools ◽

Traditional Schools ◽

Controversial Issues ◽

For Profit ◽

Accountability Measures ◽

Traditional Public Schools ◽

Brick And Mortar ◽

K 12

Publicly funded alternatives to traditional public schools have taken place in the form of charter schools and, most recently, cyber charter schools. Cyber charter schools are fully online K-12 public schools and they “look” like traditional schools since students learn traditional subjects and are still subject to the same public accountability measures as their traditional brick and mortar counterparts. This chapter examines cyber charter schools in practice and summarizes the most controversial issues surrounding this form of school choice. Issues such as the legality of cyber charters under state charter laws; the allocation of per pupil funding; the use of for-profit companies in school management; ensuring access to cyber charters; and fulfilling state mandates top the list of salient issues with respect to cyber charter schools.

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I Stand with Henry

Advances in Electronic Government, Digital Divide, and Regional Development - Cases on Grassroots Campaigns for Community Empowerment and Social Change ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8568-0.ch006 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 118-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Kirsten Loutzenhiser ◽

Robert A. Cropf

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

General Education ◽

Students With Disabilities ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Single Case ◽

Middle School Student ◽

Students With Special Needs ◽

Self Advocacy ◽

For Profit ◽

Not For Profit

This study investigates a virtual ad-hoc organization known as “I Stand With Henry” (ISWH). It features an individual middle school student with autism practicing self-advocacy. His mission is to support inclusion and get his school district to sanction his ability to be included in the general education setting instead of a separate school for students with special needs. While ISWH is not an official not-for-profit organization, is performs similar functions. Through an in-depth analysis of the ISWH Facebook page, virtual ad-hoc organizations redefine what it means to be a not-for-profit organization. This study analyzes how social media gives voice to the voiceless and how social media equalizes marginalized voices for all students with disabilities to exercise their rights. The chapter employs analyzes conversations within a single case to construct a virtual advocacy model that explains the success of ISWH.

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