What is an authorizers role during preauthorization related to special education in charter schools?
Authorizers’ roles and responsibilities related to special education are highly dependent upon individual state charter school laws and authorizer practices and procedures. Authorizers may encounter charter applicants with limited knowledge of their responsibilities related to students with disabilities. Ideally, authorizers should ensure that charter school applicants are knowledgeable about federal and state laws related to educating students with disabilities and cognizant of their responsibilities related to special education. Authorizers that do not or cannot provide deeper technical assistance regarding special education themselves should refer applicants to qualified technical assistance providers who can give them the developmental guidance applicants need throughout the planning phase. At a minimum, application materials should inform the applicants that special education is a consideration in evaluating applications. As articulated in the introduction, charter schools’ legal
