In exchange for freedom from a variety of bureaucratic rules and state regulations applicable to other public schools, charter schools are supposed to be subject to increased accountability for student achievement. Pennsylvania's charter school law expressly states that it is intended to hold charter schools accountable for meeting measurable academic standards and for increasing learning opportunities for all students.
All children really means all.
As Pennsylvania begins to develop and implement measures of accountability for charter schools, it is imperative that educators, policy makers, parents and advocates ensure that charter schools are held accountable for academic achievement for all students, including children with disabilities and English language learners. Charter schools that fail to comply with the IDEA, and other federal disability laws, put themselves at risk of losing their charter or of not having their charter renewed. Educating children with disabilities is more than simply access to public education. Instead, the IDEA now seeks to ensure a quality education for each child with a disability, an education that promotes improved educational results and student performance. Many of the changes to the 1997 IDEA and its new implementing regulations encourage high expectations for the child's success as well as evaluation and accountability for the sufficiency of the services provided.