Manhattan Institute and the Center on Reinventing Public Education

The significant growth of charter schools in the United States has brought both praise for the excellent results achieved by some schools and criticism that charter schools may not be serving the most disadvantaged students. This study, commissioned by the Center on Reinventing Public Education, attempts to ascertain why the disparity in special education rates exists. It uses data made available from the New York City Department of Education and 25 participating New York City charter elementary schools to track students who participated in lotteries and discern whether there is a difference over time in special education rates between applicants who enrolled in charters and those who instead enrolled in traditional public schools.
View Report