Report: Some Arizona charter schools unlawfully exclude, deter students
Expectations for Arizona's publicly funded charter schools are clear: Accept state money, follow state rules.
With few exceptions, that means welcoming "all eligible pupils who submit a timely application" regardless of income, ability or national origin.
Yet when the ACLU of Arizona examined 471 charter schools' enrollment materials this year, it found "clearly illegal or exclusionary" policies and procedures at more than half of them. Seventy-two schools didn't provide documents for review.
In a report released Thursday, the non-profit identified barriers that could discourage the enrollment of students with disabilities, weak grades, low test scores, behavioral problems, little money or parents without legal status. In some cases, schools capped the number of students with disabilities they would serve, a violation of federal law.
"In the 1990s … the vision was to give parents more academic choices for their children," the American Civil Liberties Union said in its report. "In many cases, however, Arizona’s charter school program has had the opposite result: Charter schools are choosing students who fit their mold."
The Arizona Charter Schools Association had received only portions of the report when contacted by The Arizona Republic. But President and CEO Eileen Sigmund said that "based on limited excerpts we have seen, it is clear the report makes broad-brush accusations that are misleading or unsupported by the evidence."
"The reason is simple: The ACLU has an anti-charter agenda," Sigmund said. "That’s why, despite the fact approximately 84 percent of Arizona students attend district schools, the ACLU purposefully limited its inquiry to charter schools."
The ACLU acknowledged district schools also have enrollment problems, saying it reviewed policies at 151 districts in 2011. Officials said they chose to focus on charter schools this year after receiving a disproportionate number of charter-related complaints over the last two school years.
Gary Miron, a West Michigan University professor who has evaluated charter schools in nine states, said enrollment complaints extend beyond Arizona.
"What we increasingly see across the nation is a very effective use of mechanisms to structure who gets in and, just as importantly, who leaves," he said. "Through entry and exit, charter schools can create and structure the populations they want to serve, and those populations tend to be less costly to educate."
'They had reached their quota'
Arizona allows charter schools to give preference to returning students and their siblings, children of school employees and governing-board members, and kids in foster care. Under state law, any eligible student who applies in time should have a shot at the remaining spots.
The school can use a lottery or comparable process to select students if the number of applications exceeds "the capacity of a program, class, grade level or building."
The ACLU found at least six charter schools with special-education caps, despite state and federal determinations that special education is a right, "not a place or program."
AmeriSchools, for instance, restricts special-education placements to 10 students per school site at its Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma academies. It wait-lists additional students with disabilities.
Reginald Barr, AmeriSchools CEO, said the 10-student limit has to do with campus size, not special-education students' needs.
"There are limits, physically, to what you can deal with educationally," he said. "If there are (special-education) limits, it's because the facility itself is prescribing limits."
The Arizona Department of Education warns charter schools about special-education caps on its website, saying any enrollment denials "based on disability or special education status could lead to claims of discrimination and possibly an investigation by the United States Department of Education/Office for Civil Rights." Even charter schools that focus on students with specific disabilities, such as autism, must be open to everyone.
"Schools are acting against these children illegally, but it’s because it's not very viable to serve these children in smaller charter schools," said Miron, the professor. "When (traditional) districts serve children with special needs, they can usually serve them anywhere in the district and do it more cost-effectively."
Queen Creek resident Jacque Salomon filed an Office for Civil Rights complaint after ASU Preparatory Academy-Polytechnic turned away her twin sons, who both have disabilities.
She said the school offered spots to the twins through its lottery, helped her begin the enrollment process and gave her a tour. But once she shared information regarding the boys' learning needs, school officials reversed course, telling her "they had reached their quota for special education."
She said she had already pulled the twins out of their previous school.
Without admitting wrongdoing, the school agreed to change how it tracked admission and wait-listing of students with disabilities, according to federal records.
"You're supposed to go to school and feel safe and embraced," Salomon said. "When you have children that already feel so different, it was really like the rug had been taken out from under me."
'A better situation'
Tiffany Liddile, whose four children have attended Legacy Traditional School in Avondale, has had a much smoother experience. She said she sought out the charter school after her oldest daughter struggled with learning disabilities at her previous school.
"We were looking for a better situation for my daughter at the time, a school that would be a little more attentive to that," she said. "I would say (the enrollment process) was very open. It just felt like normal, basic paperwork, and they never made me feel like I shouldn't apply there."
Legacy did not request an essay or interview, Liddile said, and her daughter's previous academic struggles did not affect acceptance.
At least 88 charter schools examined by the ACLU, however, required essays or interviews as part of the enrollment process and didn't ensure that families knew students' performance would not influence admission.
Some implemented academic "probationary periods," with enrollment hinging on students' performance during the first few weeks of school. Others turned away low performers more explicitly, saying students with "academic problems" shouldn't apply.
These practices undermine "the principle that charter schools must be open to all students," the ACLU said, and violate "state law that mandates charter schools admit all students who wish to enroll."
Charter schools can't give enrollment preference to academically strong students, such as those with high grade-point averages or test scores. They also can't force students to complete essays, interviews or school tours prior to enrollment, or use interview and essay performance to judge students for admission.
Though schools can request academic records to inform math or reading placements, the ACLU cautioned against requesting those records prior to enrollment, as close to half the charter schools reviewed did.
Sigmund, the charter-association president, said the ACLU report "conflates and combines true violations with activities that are neither illegal nor improper," calling it an "anti-charter witch hunt."
State law allows charter schools to refuse students who have been expelled before, but they can't reject students based on suspensions.
Nearly 60 Arizona charter schools either openly disqualify students who have been suspended or imply that prior suspensions could affect enrollment, according to the report.
Bright Beginnings School in Chandler, for example, says "enrollment is prohibited by Board Policy" if a student has been suspended from another school.
Tucson International Academy's policy states that “students that are suspended may not be enrolled at TIA schools."
Imagine Avondale requires students placed on long-term suspension by another school "to have a parent/guardian/student conference with administration as a mandatory part of the admission process."
Tempe's Valley Preparatory Academy says applicants must be “free of disciplinary or behavioral problems that may disrupt the work of VPA.”
Other charter schools request discipline records to verify whether students have been arrested, acted aggressively or had other behavioral problems.
Again, the ACLU recommends that schools request discipline records after enrollment, or stress that the information won't affect students' eligibility unless it involves expulsions.
An exception exists for alternative schools that serve specific groups of at-risk students, such as those with criminal records. The Arizona Charter Schools Association said 20 percent of public charter schools serve "alternative students."
“K-12 education is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor," Sigmund said. "Students learn in different ways. That’s the beauty of school choice — parents are empowered to make decisions in the best interest of their children’s education. … Forcing any child to stay in a failing school is what real enrollment suppression looks like.”
'Supposed to be free'
Most, if not all, district and charter schools encourage parents to participate in their children's education. But they cannot tie enrollment to parental participation.
At least 46 charter schools audited by the ACLU required parents to commit to a specific number of volunteer hours. Six schools offered "buyout" options, where parents could pay to avoid volunteer commitments.
Such requirements could discourage "students whose parents work multiple jobs, students in foster care or group homes, and students raised by elderly grandparents" from applying if their families can't meet volunteer obligations, the report said.
At least 35 charter schools in Arizona also "charge fees for a range of items, including essential course materials like textbooks, without giving parents a waiver option," according to the ACLU report.
Fees ranged from $50 to $1,000 for supplies, field trips and other activities.
Under state law, schools can't impose fees for essential items, only for extracurricular activities such as after-school sports.
"These fees may keep students from low-income families from applying" and "make it so that an education that’s supposed to be free is only available to those who can afford it," the ACLU said.
Finally, though parents must prove kids' ages and identities when enrolling them in a new school, they aren't legally obligated to produce birth certificates if they provide an accepted alternative.
Fewer than 50 of the 471 charter schools reviewed by the ACLU provided parents a list of alternatives to student birth certificates, such as a passport. At least 56 schools asked for students' Social Security numbers, and at least 25 asked for parents' Social Security numbers.
Parents are not legally obligated to provide Social Security numbers for themselves or their kids. Arizona children have access to public education regardless of immigration status.
The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools oversees most of the state's charter schools, ensuring they follow the law and their charter contracts.
Before a group can open a charter school, it must “describe the proposed fair and equitable admission requirements and documents required in the enrollment packet,” according to the current application form.
After the school opens, an education program manager conducts an unannounced site visit within a year. The manager reviews enrollment policies and forms, and schools not in compliance must take corrective action.
"However, in spite of these accountability measures, many unlawful enrollment practices slip through the cracks," the ACLU said in its report, noting that most violations are "publicly posted on schools’ websites or written into other widely available documents like student handbooks."
Ashley Berg, Arizona State Board for Charter Schools executive director, said in a statement that the board "always has taken very seriously any and all complaints of a charter school allegedly failing to uphold the law."
"Every charter school student, their families and every Arizona resident can use the Board’s complaint process if they have concerns about a charter’s enrollment process," Berg said. "Every complaint gets investigated and, if illegal enrollment practices exist, schools are held fully accountable."
Berg said the board also shares enrollment guidance with its schools.
"Once we have had an opportunity to review the ACLU's report in depth, we will take any actions necessary to ensure compliance with the law and to further educate our charter schools about appropriate enrollment practices," she said. "State law is clear: No charter school or district school can discriminate in the admission of students."