Award Will Support Organization’s Work to Initiate, Foster, and Assist in the Development of Strategies, Programs, and Supports for Students With Disabilities in Charter Schools
The Center for Learner Equity is excited to announce that we have been awarded a two-year grant for a total of $905,000 from the Walton Family Foundation that will support our work on behalf of students with disabilities interested in attending charter schools.
The core of everything we do at The Center for Learner Equity is based on data and these new funds are going to help us continue to identify new and promising practices related to educating students with disabilities through ongoing research, analysis, and technical assistance.
We are especially excited about the opportunity to expand our local work in cities such as Camden, New Orleans, Newark, and Washington, DC – partnering with authorizers, educators, parents, and administrators to accelerate and track the adoption of best practices that will have a positive impact on not only access, but the quality of supports and services provided to students with disabilities.
We will also be conducting a secondary analysis of the biennial Civil Rights Data Collection administered by the U.S. Department of Education, with the goal of tracking enrollment, service provision, and discipline trends for students with disabilities in traditional schools as well as charter public schools. We will share findings with charter school leaders, policymakers, parents, and the broader K-12 education community in order to inform discussions focused on educating students with disabilities.
In addition to our work in target locations, The Center for Learner Equity will also continue our advocacy work at the federal, state and local levels, striving to encourage adoption of policies and practices that support charter school development of quality supports and services for students with a diverse range of learning differences. To accomplish our goals, we are building meaningful partnerships with leading special education and charter school advocacy organizations around the country such as the Council for Exceptional Children, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Association of Charter School Authorizers, and National Center for Learning Disabilities.
We are seeing progress being made in the charter sector in terms of access and commitment to developing exemplary programs for students with disabilities. We attribute that progress to the relentless work of advocates, parents, and education leaders around the country who are standing up for students with disabilities.
But we have more work to do, and the more we document and disseminate facts, communicate with policymakers and decision makers, and build coalitions among key stakeholders, the more progress we will make. We are grateful for the Walton Family Foundation’s support and look forward to sharing the results of our work with you in the very near future. To learn more about our multiple initiatives, research, and resources, visit: www.ncesecs.org or follow us @The Center for Learner Equity.
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