The University of Maryland, in collaboration with the National Association of State Directors of Special Education and Lange Consultants, is conducting a three year study of the intersection of special education and charter schools. Building upon the findings from Project SEARCH, this study is expanding the knowledge base regarding access and delivery of special education in charter schools. The study is driven by four key research questions:

	How does state charter school legislation, including the authorization and appeal process, influence access to special education and related services?
	What is the status of the charter school movement nationwide and how is special education incorporated in charter school policies and procedures?
	How do children with disabilities access special education and related services in charter schools?
	How are charter schools building their capacity to provide special education?

These research questions will provide the data required to examine the relationship of three sets of variables and charter school special education procedures and practices. The three sets of variables are: 1) features of the charter school law, 2) characteristics of charter schools and 3) nature and type of technical assistance and special education infrastructure available to charter schools.

The research activities are designed so that each successive activity will become more focused and draw from a more refined, purposeful sample of states, schools, and organizations. While some research questions will be answered by a single data collection strategy, most questions will be addressed using multiple sources of data.

Record Review/Review of the Literature
Charter school and special education laws, policies, and other pertinent records will be reviewed in each of the 40 states (and the District of Columbia) with operating charter schools. The purpose of the review is to document the status of the laws and articulate characteristics (e.g., legal identity or linkage) related to special education in charter schools.

Survey of State Directors of Special Education and State Directors of Charter Schools
The purpose of the state level survey is two-fold: (1) to document state level policies and procedures in order to determine how these policies affect access to special education and related services to students with disabilities in charter schools; and (2) to document additional state characteristics (e.g., technical assistance networks, accountability/monitoring mechanisms) that we hypothesize influence how special education and related services are provided to students with disabilities enrolled in charter schools. The findings from the state level surveys will shape the content of the charter school operator survey.

Survey of with Charter School Authorizers
Charter authorizers are key stakeholders in the charter school movement and as such, we are collecting data from authorizers regarding how they integrate special education into their policies and procedures. The purpose of the survey is to document how authorizers are integrating special education into 1) the application process, 2) accountability plans, 3) technical assistance/training, and 4) the renewal process.

Extant Data Analysis of Academic Performance of Students with Disabilities Enrolled in Charter Schools
Students with disabilities are choosing to enroll in charter schools along with their non-disabled peers yet very little is known about how they are performing academically in these new and sometimes unique public schools. We are conducting a supplemental analysis of extant data to examine academic performance trends and illuminate issues related to collecting and managing data on students with disabilities enrolled in charter schools.

The analysis will address the following two research questions in a single state with an active charter school sector:

	1) To what degree are states tracking and disaggregating the academic performance of students with disabilities enrolled in charter schools, and
	2) how are students with disabilities enrolled in charter schools performing relative to their peers without disabilities enrolled in charter schools and their peers with disabilities enrolled in traditional public schools?

Charter School Operator Survey The purpose of the operator survey is to further document the issues influencing charter schools' special education policies and practices. Together with findings from the other research activities, the operator survey will document what, if any, policies states or authorizers have developed to assist charter schools in determining eligibility of students for special education and actually providing special education and related services. The operator survey will document charter school characteristics, authorizing procedures, special education policies and procedures, and other school-level practices. Our analysis of the survey will examine how various state, district, and authorizer policies affect access to special education and related services for students with disabilities in charter schools, as well as the role of special education and related services in the different phases of charter school development and operation.

SPECIAL EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE ANALYSIS: 2005

Case Studies of Administrative and Organizational Infrastructures The purpose of the case studies is to gather rich descriptive data regarding the "organizational and administrative infrastructures" that are emerging at the intersection of special education and charter schools. For the purpose of this study, "organizational and administrative infrastructures" are entities such as 1) cooperatives, 2) education management organization contracts, or 3) strategies such as risk pooling that charter schools are utilizing to boost their capacity to provide special education. The case studies will provide a refined illustration of how policies that states or authorizers have developed to assist charter schools in determining eligibility of students for special education and related services are being implemented at the local level. The activity will document how charter schools are developing capacity to address the tensions associated with the intersection of special education policies and practices and charter school policies and practices. In addition, the analysis will describe how the emerging special education infrastructures influence access to special education for students with disabilities in charter schools and what role the infrastructures play in the different phases of charter school development and operation. Interviews will be conducted with key personnel associated with the chosen infrastructures. The research team will review pertinent records and conduct site visits that will include interviews with key stakeholders.

SYNTHESIZE AND DISSEMINATE RESEARCH FINDINGS: ONGOING

Synthesis and Dissemination Synthesis and dissemination will occur during each of the aforementioned activities and culminate in a final report that will capture all the data collected using the mixed methods. Using standard survey analysis processes and standard case study processes, we will analyze the data to identify themes, draw conclusions and make recommendations.