The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) released information earlier this month that seeks to answer commonly asked questions about charter schools, including the responsibility of transportation and how services are provided to students with disabilities.
Roughly half of the states provide students with transportation to and from charter schools, according to a School Transportation News survey of states conducted one year ago. The states that do not require charter school transportation by law are: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
NICHCY added that in some states individual charter schools are responsible for providing transportation service. It other states, this responsibility falls on the shoulders of school districts. The NICHCY fact sheet includes links to state charter school regulations that include specifics on transportation policies.
Similar to regular public schools, charter schools are required to follow Section 504 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and offer a “Free Appropriate Public Education,” or FAPE, to all students with disabilities. But charter schools are given additional leeway to use a random selection system to determine student enrollment if more students apply than can be served.
