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“It’s all about the needs of that child and where that child can get their needs best met,” said Vickie Marble, who sits on the board of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools.
Fernando Zulueta, whose firm, Academica, manages more than 60 charter schools in South Florida, said any employee who denied access to a student with disabilities would be fired. He said special needs students rarely apply to Academica-managed schools because they are better served at private schools that take McKay scholarships, state funding that helps children with disabilities attend private schools.
“We want to serve them,” he said. “We haven’t gotten there yet.”
The process can be frustrating for parents.
Vigil ultimately chose a private school called Learning Links for her son David. Although the boy receives a McKay Scholarship, tuition still costs the family about $7,000 annually, she said.
‘Discrimination’
Yanely Hernandez had a similar experience with Doral Academy Charter School, where she said her two children were denied enrollment because of their Individualized Education Plans. “My kids have never been picked and that is discrimination,” Hernandez wrote in a complaint letter to the school district.
Zulueta, whose company also manages the Doral Academy schools, denied the allegations.
Some experts are calling for more self-regulating — and for the local school districts to play a bigger role in monitoring enrollment numbers.Lynn Norman-Teck, a spokeswoman for the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, said more schools serving children with disabilities may be coming soon.
“As we move into the next phase of charter schools, I imagine that children with disabilities will be next,” she said. “That is a natural progression for charter schools.”
StateImpact Florida reporters Sarah Gonzalez and John O’Connor contributed to this report.
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