Charters Criticized For "Shunning" Special Needs Students

Bloomberg News (9/22) reports that complaints voiced by the family of a special needs student at New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy, which received a $1 million check from media mogul Oprah Winfrey last fall, that the boy has been denied vital services and improperly excluded from school events represent "a common complaint about privately run, taxpayer-financed charter schools: They often exclude children with serious disabilities or deny them the help they need, violating federal laws. ... Shunning special-education students helps school budgets since the average disabled child costs twice as much to serve as a nondisabled one, said Thomas Hehir, who oversaw federal special-education programs under President Bill Clinton."