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EFE Releases Striking New Findings About Students with Disabilities in 45 Chicago Charter Schools

When Chicago Public Schools decides whether a charter school can continue to operate, it should consider not just student performance overall, but specifically how well the school serves students with disabilities.

Equip for Equality (EFE) is calling on CPS to strengthen the reauthorization process to better consider students with disabilities. CPS should review detailed data about how students with disabilities perform in charter schools, require charter schools to use non-discrimination statements and avoid unlawful admissions practices, and work to promote the inclusion of students with disabilities.

EFE today released new findings about charter schools in Chicago and uncovered concerning statistics about student enrollment and admissions, expulsion practices, students who leave charter schools, and the lack of access for students with significant needs. This data comes from a year-long investigation, review of charter school policies, compilation of public data and data secured via FOIA requests, and work on behalf of more than 150 families in over 50 charter schools. We focus on the schools which may be reauthorized soon: 34 in 2015 and 11 in 2016.

EFE urges CPS to investigate the troubling new findings about many of the schools currently up for reauthorization.

To see the complete findings, including school-by-school fact sheets, visit www.equipforequality.org/charterrenewal/

Contact: Charlie Wysong at (312) 895-7340 or Charlie@EquipforEquality.org

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