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Metro Deaf School (MDS), located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is one of the first charter schools in the nation. MDS, provides a bilingual environment in ASL and English for deaf and hard of hearing students, ages 3-21, in pre-K through high school. In its 20 years of operation, MDS has seen its students become more diverse, and with the diversity the school has adjusted and evolved to ensure expectations remain high to meet the needs of its students. Students are instructed in all content areas using the ASL/English bilingual model. The needs of the unique and diverse student population are addressed through assessment and monitoring. This system establishes high expectations for all students as each student pursues his or her individual learning goals, and each student's background and learning needs are addressed. MDS has retooled and instigated an accountability system that provides and relies on data and information, not only for gauging school success but also for providing the instructional foundation needed to address all students' needs. Parents, community members, and professionals meet to choose outcomes and indicators using a "whole-child approach," based on a model developed by the University of Minnesota's National Center for Educational Outcomes, which includes attending not only to academic outcomes but also to socio-emotional and language outcomes. Goals are set in the fall of each year, and individual goals are established for reading, mathematics, and ASL. The personal interview was used as a way to collect a language sample, with an overall signing skills rubric. The assessment looked at the students' overall signing skills, including sign production, vocabulary, grammar, discourse, and fluency. Moving to individual accountability goals benefits all students because it holds all--teachers, administrators, and students--to high standards.

Charter schools are a growing and evolving component of the public education sector. These schools may be exempt from state or local regulations, but they are part of the public system and subject to federal laws and many regulations. Research has documented policy tensions and basic challenges associated with developing special education programs in charter schools. A key source of these issues is ambiguity in individual state charter laws regarding roles and responsibilities related to special education. This article presents findings from a review of 41 charter statutes. The review reveals variability and lack of specificity among states in the legislative structures they maintain for charter schools and how responsibility for special education is assigned. These findings highlight the importance of federal, state, and district policy leaders developing a nuanced understanding of statutes shaping the parameters of responsibility for special education in the charter sector.

Charter schools, although a stage for potential educational reform and innovation, remain subject to federal laws regarding the education of students with disabilities. As they intersect with federal law, the variance of state charter laws and policy surrounding the provision of special education creates a challenging context for helping charters to meet mandates. Although key policy makers have developed an understanding of the policy issues and legal status of charters in their states, mechanisms for supporting charter schools in the education of students with disabilities remain ambiguous. The present research study was designed to shed light on the point of view of key officials who deal with the issues of the intersection of charter and special education laws on a day-to-day basis. A legislative review and two state-level surveys were conducted during the 2003-2004 academic year. State charter school laws and related policy documents were reviewed to determine the degree to which states address special education in their charter school laws. Surveys of state directors of special education and state charter school officials (the state-level policy leaders most directly involved with developing and implementing policies that influence charter schools) were conducted to verify and complement the legislative review. A bank of survey items was designed by building upon prior research conducted into special education and charter schools. The items were then reviewed by an advisory panel and revised with the most salient items included in the surveys. This legislative review and survey findings indicate that state-level officials are in agreement about the legal status of charter schools in their states, but there is less consistency concerning who is responsible for special education and related services, the challenges in the charter schools, technical assistance needs, and who provides support for building special education capacity. These findings suggest that in many states, capacity is not being expected or built during the authorization stage nor is it being expected when charter schools seek renewal. Moreover, the renewal process, which has as its core the charter contract, is not being utilized to the extent possible in setting accountability parameters. The authors propose that ensuring that state-level policy leaders who deal with charter schools are aware of the nuances of the state charter school law and the impact it has on special education policy is critical to successful implementation of special education in charter schools. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

Fifteen years ago charter schools were considered a radical addition to the public education landscape. Today they present a viable educational choice in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Much has been written about charter schools, their purpose, effectiveness, and future. However, to date, much of the dialogue has focused on ideology and methodology resulting in a discussion framed as "charter vs. noncharter." Overlooked have been the more substantive issues that would provide a more accurate framework for studying charter schools. We propose that the education policy and research communities need to identify the critical variables in the charter schools sector that affect both student outcomes and education policy. One such major variable is the legal status of a charter school, that is, its identity as a local education agency (LEA) or as part of an existing LEA and the charter school's linkage to other parts of the public education system that flows from that identity. Differentiating charter schools according to their legal status will allow stakeholders to categorize these schools in a manner that succinctly captures critical differences. (Contains 1 note.)

Focus groups with typical high school students, alternative school and high school students at risk for failure, and alternative and high school teachers of at-risk students examined their perceptions of school goals for such students, barriers to reaching those goals, and accommodations available to help students. Discusses the thematic responses, which differed in relation to risk status and setting. (SM)

Parents (N=600) of students with and without disabilities enrolled in Minnesota's charter schools were surveyed. Parents answered questions about reasons for charter school enrollment, perceived changes in their child, level of satisfaction, level of parent involvement, and special education service availability. Parents of children with disabilities cited special education services as a major factor in charter school enrollment. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

Presents the results of surveys and follow-up interviews of parents of children with disabilities who chose to use the "open enrollment" transfer option in Minnesota. Reasons for school transfer included better met special education needs and personal attention for children at chosen schools, and more information on child's progress from special education teachers. (LC)

It is argued that the television serials Marking Time and Molly and Mobarak construct and represent Hazara Afghan refugees as Australians who are white, family oriented and have a belief in multiculturalism, by minimizing cultural and religious differences, and by presenting the main protagonists as a part of a family.

ABSTRACT: A major missing piece in the current debate about school choice is the impact of these policies on students with disabilities. In this article, findings from 6 years of research on implications of school choice for students with disabilities are synthesized. We used multiple methodologies to conduct a set of 12 quantitative and qualitative studies. Participation rates, reasons for transfer, impact on students with disabilities, and school districts were investigated for three of the most popular school choice options. Students with disabilities, are participating in school choice options. Their reasons for transfer are often related to special education programs and services. Findings provide needed information for policymakers, educators, parents, and students as states propose, pass, and implement school choice legislation., Many educational policies have been passed, proposed, reviewed, and evaluated since an alarming critique of the American educational system was issued in A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence, [...]

ABSTRACT: This study examines the characteristics of students with disabilities who participate in Open Enrollment (one of seven enrollment options available in Minnesota), the reasons they participate, and the sources of information and decision-making process involved with choosing another district. Surveys of 347 parents revealed three primary reasons for transferring their children: The child' s special education needs being better met at the new district, more personal attention from the teacher, and dissatisfaction with the resident school. Other factors, such as disability category, parents' income, and location, were also analyzed., As the United States nears the 21st century, educators and policy makers have expressed concern about the status of the country's educational system. Reforms have been offered at many levels [...]

Surveys in Minnesota show that students with disabilities and special needs benefit from various school choice options. Any discussion of school choice must include an analysis of the success of [...]

This paper explores the construction of Australian citizenship, in particular contestations over membership in the community, through the interactions between two groups of people who live and work in a regional town in Australia: volunteer English language tutors and Afghan Hazara refugees who were granted temporary protection visas (TPVs). The paper examines the power relations which operate between the two groups and other relevant institutions. Of particular interest is the way the tutors and other groups tend to infantalise the Hazara through their efforts to ‘protect’ them and the way the Hazara in turn attempt to deal with and resist this treatment. In contrast to the mostly negative media images of Afghan refugees in the Australian media, the English language tutors construct and represent the Hazara using a discourse of citizenship, couched in terms of their membership in and economic contribution to the community. This membership is contested by certain groups when the Hazara are seen as not being adequately grateful for the help given to them by the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the performance of high school students at risk of school failure in second chance programs in Minnesota. Effectiveness of the programs; Comparison between the performance of persisters and dropouts; Growth of persisters in academic achievement; Provision of a positive experience for students by the programs.

Allowing families to choose their child's school consistently ranks among the top choices among strategies identified by national policy makers for improving education by the year 2000 and beyond. Despite the popularity of choice as an educational reform alternative, little is known about how it operates nationally and what effects selecting and transferring schools may have in particular areas of the country with particular groups of students. The focus of this research was a cross-sectional survey to identify facts and opinions about selected aspects of contemporary practices related to choice. Responses from families of students with disabilities were compared to responses of a similar group of families of students without disabilities. The following research questions were addressed: (1) What kinds of information about choice do school districts provide and how useful are they? (2) What procedures do school districts use to inform families about choice and how useful are hey? (3) What issues and concerns about choice are most salient for students with disabilities and their families? This work provides a strong foundation for addressing policy concerns related to improving education programs and provides information school psychologists and other school personnel need for improving the quality of educational services provided to students with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Public school choice is among the strategies identified by national policymakers for improving education by the year 2000 and beyond. Despite the popularity of choice as an educational reform alternative, little is known about how choice operates nationally and what effects it may have in particular areas of the country with particular groups of students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to identify reasons families chose to change schools and their perceptions of the effects transferring had on school behavior. Responses from families of students with disabilities were compared to responses of a similar group of families of students without disabilities. This work provides a strong foundation for addressing policy concerns related to improving education programs and provides information school personnel and policymakers need as they work to improve the quality of educational services for students with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]