Federal and state law mandate that charter schools provide a free and appropriate education for children and youth with disabilities. Charter school planners and operators need to understand the basic elements of the federal and state laws on education for students with disabilities in order to give appropriate consideration to these laws in policy and programming decisions.
Special education needs to be an integral part of the charter school's overall educational design.
A charter school proposal should reflect consideration of the fiscal, instructional programming, and staffing impact of meeting the special needs of children with disabilities. Both the federal regulations and the changes in Minnesota's special education statute and rule will provide further clarification in the coming months. Federal and State policy letters, due process hearings and court decisions will further refine interpretations over time. Special education is always evolving. The following presents basic terms of charter school special education responsibilities.