Waldorf Charter School and School Choice
Abstract
Students with educational needs are often assessed and labeled for special education. These students receive services based on their specific needs. The federal government has provisions for students to qualify for special education services in eleven different areas: autism spectrum disorders, blind-visually impaired, deaf or blind, deaf and hard of hearing, developmental cognitive disabilities, developmental delay, other health disabilities, specific learning disabilities, speech or language impairments, traumatic brain injury, and emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD). Students receiving special education services make up around 10% of the population of a school. Minnesota students receiving special education services for E/BD were nearly 2% of the state population of students. In the 2005-2006 school year, 7% of students enrolled at Watershed High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota were receiving services for E/BD. In this study, some of those students who qualified to receive special education services for E/BD and their families were interviewed to determine why they chose a Waldorf method, charter high school. The study also examines how the needs are or are not being met at the school.