NPR, March 1, 2017: Just What IS A Charter School, Anyway?
“Aren’t charter schools often accused of ‘creaming,’ not taking kids with special needs?
Rees: Charters cannot pick the students they want. They have to accept kids with disabilities and ELLs, English language learners. Right now, charter schools are tilted to serve low-income kids. Over 50 percent [of students in charter schools] are from black and Latino households, mostly in inner cities.
Kolderie: The charter sector is still a public system. It has to be free, open. No tuition, no teaching religion, no picking and choosing kids.”