By Michelle Aguilar

According to the National Center for Special Education Services, approximately 6.4 million students — roughly 13% of the student population between ages 6-21 — receive special education and related services in public schools every year. In order to provide a high quality and equitable education to students of all abilities, it is vital that open-enrollment charter schools become aware of the services and supports available to them through TPCSA and the NCSES.

The NCSES has authored the Toolkit of Emerging Best Practices and Opportunities for Charter Support Organizations, which highlights legal foundations of special education, best practices, and resources available to open-enrollment, public charter schools.

The NCSES has listed TPCSA as a CSO offering special education supports to its members. 

NCSES recommends that open-enrollment charter schools follow a systematic process in order to identify their greatest needs related to successfully meeting the requirements of students with a wide range of disabilities. The toolkit provides self-assessment tools designed to evaluate the degree to which the school is currently providing high-quality special education services, and strategize about the ways to close the gaps between school needs and goals.

For more information on the Toolkit of Emerging Best Practices and Opportunities for Charter Support Organizations, please visit the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools webpage. For questions specific to special education services in Texas, please contact Michelle Aguilar at miaguilar@txcharterschools.org.