{"title":"School Choice and Students With Disabilities: Evidence From Administrative Data","authors":"Josefina Senese, Marcus A. Winters","doi":"10.1177/07419325241262699","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"School choice has emerged as an alternative to traditional public education, allowing families to select schools outside their neighborhood. While extensive research has examined its impact on students overall, there is a need to focus on its specific effects on students with disabilities. This article addresses this gap by reviewing 39 quantitative studies analyzing this issue using administrative data. Twenty-eight focus on charter schools, and 18 compare differences in enrollment—usually referred to as the “SPED gap”—between sectors. However, few publications explore factors contributing to these disparities or variations in services provided and their impact on student outcomes. We propose future research should (a) explore outcomes beyond enrollment disparities, including both academic and non-academic aspects, as well as short and long-term consequences; (b) employ rigorous statistical methods; (c) broaden the scope of the investigation to encompass diverse states and contexts, as well as other choice policies.","PeriodicalId":48042,"journal":{"name":"Remedial and Special Education","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Remedial and Special Education","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325241262699","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SPECIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
School choice has emerged as an alternative to traditional public education, allowing families to select schools outside their neighborhood. While extensive research has examined its impact on students overall, there is a need to focus on its specific effects on students with disabilities. This article addresses this gap by reviewing 39 quantitative studies analyzing this issue using administrative data. Twenty-eight focus on charter schools, and 18 compare differences in enrollment—usually referred to as the “SPED gap”—between sectors. However, few publications explore factors contributing to these disparities or variations in services provided and their impact on student outcomes. We propose future research should (a) explore outcomes beyond enrollment disparities, including both academic and non-academic aspects, as well as short and long-term consequences; (b) employ rigorous statistical methods; (c) broaden the scope of the investigation to encompass diverse states and contexts, as well as other choice policies.
期刊介绍:
Remedial and Special Education (RASE) is devoted to the discussion of issues involving the education of persons for whom typical instruction is not effective. Emphasis is on the interpretation of research literature and recommendations for the practice of remedial and special education. Appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, definition, identification, assessment, characteristics, management, and instruction of underachieving and exceptional children, youth, and adults; related services; family involvement; service delivery systems; legislation; litigation; and professional standards and training.