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IDEA-PART B FINAL REGULATIONS*
PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
(March 1999)
Provisions on "Public Charter Schools" in IDEA '97.
The
IDEA Amendments of 1997 contained two specific provisions on public
charter schools, including requiring that --
- In situations in which charter schools are public schools of
the LEA, the LEA must –
- serve children with disabilities in those schools in the
same manner that it serves children with disabilities in its
other schools, and
- provide Part B funds to those schools in the same manner as
it provides Part B funds to its other schools (section
613(a)(5)); and
- An SEA may not require a charter school that is an LEA to
jointly establish its eligibility with another LEA unless it is
explicitly permitted to do so under the State's charter school
statute (section 613(e)(1)(B)).
In addition, the House Committee Report on Pub. L. 105-17 stated
that "The Committee expects that charter schools will be in full
compliance with Part B." (H. Rpt. 105-95, p. 97 (1997))
Proposed Provisions on Charter Schools in NPRM.
The NPRM
(1) incorporated the above statutory provisions on public charter
schools -- in proposed §300.241 (Treatment of charter schools and
their students), and proposed §300.190(b) (Charter school
exception); (2) added a note following §300.241 to reflect the House
Committee Report related to charter schools; and (3) added a note
following the definition of "LEA" to address the responsibility of
charter schools that meet the definition of "LEA" and receive funds
as LEAs.
Public Comments on Charter Schools -- Requested Changes.
A number of public comments on the NPRM expressed concern about
the note following the definition of "LEA," stating that it provided
an inadequate explanation of charter schools under Part B (i.e., it
focused only on public charter schools that are LEAs under State law
and excluded those schools that are defined by State law as being
part of an LEA). Many of the commenters requested that the note
either be deleted or modified.
Changes in Charter School Provisions to Address Public
Comments.
A number of changes have been made to the Part B
regulations to specifically address the commenters' concerns related
to charter schools, including -- (1) deleting the note following the
definition of "LEA" (because it did not provide a full explanation
of the responsibilities of public charter schools under the Part B
regulations); and (2) making other changes, to provide additional
guidance related to public charter schools, as follows:
- APPLICABILITY OF PART B REGS TO PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS.
Proposed §300.2 (Applicability of this part to State,
local, and private agencies) has been revised to clarify that the
Part B final regulations apply to all public agencies, including
public charter schools that are not included as LEAs or
educational service agencies (ESAs), and are not a school of an
LEA or ESA.
- "CHARTER SCHOOLS" IN DEFINITIONS OF "LEA" AND "PUBLIC
AGENCY,"
as follows:
- "Local educational agency" (LEA)
. The proposed
definition of "LEA" has been redesignated as §300.18, and
amended to clarify that the term includes public charter schools
that are established as an LEA under State law.
(§300.18(b)(2))
- "Public agency."
The proposed definition of "public
agency" has been redesignated as §300.22, and amended to add to
the list of examples of a public agency, "public charter schools
that are not otherwise included as LEAs or ESAs and are not a
school of an LEA or ESA..."
- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS.
A new §300.312 has been added to the final regulations, as
follows:
- Children and parents retain all rights
. New §300.312(a)
has been added to make clear that -- (A) children with
disabilities who attend public charter schools and their parents
retain all rights under Part B; and (B) compliance with this
part is required regardless of whether a public charter school
receives Part B funds.
- Responsibilities of Charter schools, LEAs, and SEAs
. New
§300.312(b)-(d) addresses the responsibilities of each entity
(public charter schools, LEAs, and SEAs), subject to State law,
as follows:
- PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
.
Charter schools that are
LEAs and receive Part B funds must ensure that the Part B
requirements are met, unless State law assigns that
responsibility to some other entity. (For example, the charter
school that is an LEA must ensure that all children with
disabilities attending the school receive services in
accordance with a properly developed IEP, that all procedural
safeguards provisions are met in terms of provisions such as
parental consent and written prior notice, and that all other
applicable requirements of IDEA are met.)
- LEAs
.
If a public charter school is a school of an
LEA that receives Part B funds and includes other public
schools, the LEA must -- (1) ensure that the requirements of
this part are met, and (2) meet the requirements of §300.241
(i.e., serve children with disabilities attending charter
schools, and provide Part B funds to those schools in the same
manner that it does for other schools). (Proposed §300.241 has
been retained in the final regulations.)
- SEAs
.
If a charter school is neither an LEA
receiving funding, or part of an LEA that receives funds, the
SEA is responsible for ensuring that the requirements are met
by that school.
* On October 22, 1997, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was
published in the Federal Register to amend the
regulations under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA). The purposes of the NPRM were to implement
changes made by the IDEA Amendments of 1997, and make other changes
that facilitate the implementation of Part B. The changes made since
the NPRM are based mainly on public comments
received. |
