IF New Yorkers needed another reason to lift the artificial cap on charter schools, they got it with this June’s US Supreme Court decision that mandated public reimbursement for private-school special-education services — services that charter schools can provide at a fraction of the cost.
Nationally and here in New York, the yearly per-pupil cost at a private school specializing in special ed generally ranges from $40,000 to $50,000, with some schools costing up to $85,000 a year.
The city already spends millions every year on private-school placements for disabled students — $89 million in the 2007-2008 school year, up from $53 million two years earlier. Now, under this ruling, it will have to foot the bill for the private education costs for any student with a specialized learning need.
While the effectiveness of these private schools isn’t in doubt, quality special-education services don’t have to cost taxpayers an arm and a leg. In fact, public charter schools are more than capable of providing special-ed students with the type of individually tailored instruction they need at a much lower price.
At the school I lead, Opportunity Charter School, more than half of our students are classified to receive special-education services. Though we specialize in special-ed instruction, we’re able to offer our kids a high-quality education at less than half the cost of city private schools.
We do this in a couple of ways:
* We integrate our special-education students with all of our other students, eliminating the stigma of being labeled “learning disabled” and some of the barriers to learning that go with it.
* We create an individualized learning plan for each student and provide specialized instruction in every curricular area.
* Perhaps most important, we constantly evaluate student success and adapt learning plans to maximize their understanding of course material.
The results are incredibly positive. Our special-ed students enter 6th grade at OCS one, two and often three grade levels behind their peers, and on average they’re learning at 0.40 times the rate of non-special-ed students citywide. By the end of their first year at OCS, they’re making even progress with their NYC peers and climbing back up to grade level.
We have an 11th-grade special-education student who started at OCS five years ago and was way behind in all subjects. This June, she passed her 5th Regents exam and will qualify for a Regents Diploma next year when she graduates.
She has overcome tremendous obstacles and life tragedies and is on track to go to college and pursue her life’s dream. Her story typifies the success special-education students find at OCS.
There are, of course, some children who need the kind of highly specialized care that only a private institution can provide, and parents should have the resources to access that care. But public-charter schools like OCS can effectively serve the vast majority of special-education students at no added cost to the taxpayer. At a time of billion-dollar state budget deficits, job losses and general economic malaise, we can’t afford to overpay for private services.
That’s why New York needs to lift the charter cap and encourage the growth of more charters specializing in special-education instruction. Parents deserve the choice.
This isn’t the time to be spending money when things can be done equally well for less. Charters deserve the chance to fill this need.
Leonard Goldberg is the head of school and CEO of Opportunity Charter School.
