Key Trends in Special Education in Charter Schools in 2015-2016: Secondary Analysis of the Civil Rights Data Collection

This descriptive report by Lauren Morando Rhim, Shaini Kothari, and Stephanie Lancet examines special education enrollment in charter schools. They find the proportion of students with disabilities in charter has increased over the past decade but remains lower than in traditional public schools (although this varies by state). Students with disabilities in charter schools are more likely to spend 80% or more of their time in a general education classroom than students with disabilities in traditional public schools. Charter schools suspend students with disabilities at higher rates than in traditional public schools, but expel those students at lower rates.