Legis1

The Senate HELP Committee held a hearing on charter schools on Wednesday, May 20, that put a sharp spotlight on one of the Trump administration’s core education priorities, while Democrats used the session to raise alarms about the dismantling of federal oversight that protects students with disabilities. The administration strongly supports charter expansion, having proposed a $60 million budget increase for charter schools even as it cuts more than $4.5 billion from broader K-12 programs.

The most consequential data point of the session came from Jennifer Coco, citing Stanford University’s Credo study. For most student subgroups, charter schools showed greater academic gains than traditional public schools. The one exception: students with disabilities, who showed academic learning losses in charter schools. “It brings me no joy to say that,” Coco said, “but it certainly drives the why of our work.” Coco was careful not to frame the problem as charter schools being unwilling to serve students with disabilities. She argued the real issue is structural: charters receive only 75 percent of the per-pupil funding of traditional public schools, lack the economies of scale to offer a full continuum of services, and struggle to compete for special education staff.