Students with disabilities make up almost 15 percent of K–12 students in the U.S. These students have long been underrepresented in charter schools, which may offer different (or fewer) special education services than traditional public schools. This underrepresentation raises questions regarding charters’ ability to serve the needs of students with disabilities.
A new study by Scott A. Imberman and Andrew Johnson examines data on Michigan K–8 students from 2013 to 2018 to assess how the identification, educational setting, services, and academic outcomes of students with disabilities (SWDs) change upon switching from a traditional public school (TPS) to a charter school. Students in Michigan benefit from a strong and diverse choice system, with almost a quarter of public school students enrolled in charter schools or a TPS through inter-district open enrollment.
To assess how the educational environment and outcomes of SWDs change upon enrollment in a charter school, the researchers use difference-in-difference models to compare students’ outcomes before and after such a shift, while also accounting for broader changes over time. This analysis employs a two-way fixed effects model, allowing comparisons with students over time and across various charter entry cohorts to help isolate the effect of attending a charter school.
Several key findings emerge. Among students who eventually enroll in a charter school, approximately 14.5 percent were identified for special education services in the year prior to entry. This rate remained largely unchanged in the first year after enrolling in a charter school. However, identification rates increased gradually by 1 to 2 percentage points two to three years after charter enrollment, with similar patterns observed across disability types.
As for educational environment, prior to attending a charter school, all SWDs spent an average of 2.3 percent of their school day in special education settings. Upon enrolling in a charter school, that percentage fell by roughly half—a significant, though temporary, reduction in time. By students’ third year of charter enrollment, time spent in special education settings returned to pre-charter entry levels.
Compared to TPS, charter schools also use less intensive and less expensive special education programs and service assignments, reflecting changes in how IEP-based services are delivered upon student enrollment. After switching to a charter school, students were more likely to participate in resource programs, in which they spend most of their day in general education classrooms and receive targeted instruction in resource rooms for a portion of the day. In contrast, programs that place students with cognitive disabilities in a separate classroom for the entire day are more intensive and costly, serving students with more significant needs. The study finds that participation in these decline after charter entry.
These patterns do not indicate whether students with more intensive needs are less likely to switch into charter schools, or whether students with similar needs receive different levels of services in charters than they would in TPS. Rather, the findings show how special education services typically change when students transition from TPS to charter schools.
Despite the reduction in intensity and cost, student academic outcomes improved for both SWDs and general education students after enrolling in charter schools. Math and reading scores improved for SWDs and general education students at a similar rate upon enrollment. By the third year after enrollment, achievement gains reached approximately 0.2 standard deviations in both subjects. Student attendance also improved, with absence rates decreasing by 3.3 percentage points in the first year after students enrolled in a charter school and continuing to improve modestly thereafter.
These results suggest that charter schools are not shortchanging SWDs, as critics often claim. Instead, when students transition from TPS to charter schools, they are more likely to receive inclusive services—without sacrificing student outcomes.
SOURCE: Scott Imberman, Andrew Johnson, “How Do Charter Schools Serve Students with Disabilities? Lessons from Michigan,” National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (January 2026).
