Building a future where schools are designed for the success of all students.  

What's New?

CLE received a $700,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Over the next year this grant will assist CLE to conduct research that will examine the relationship between charter school growth and the ability of charter schools to educate students with disabilities effectively. Read the full press release here..

“There have been few other studies to explore the correlation between the growth of the charter sector and its ability to educate students with a wide range of disabilities and needs. We are approaching this work with an intentional focus on intersectionality to ensure we consider students with disabilities across all lines of difference. Knowing this work has the potential to inform philanthropic giving and best practices in the charter sector, we are excited about the high impact of this project."

Lauren Morando Rhim, Executive Director and Co-founder

CLE Staff Announcements

The Center for Learner Equity (CLE) is excited to announce the promotion of Jennifer Coco into a new position, Senior Director of Strategy & Impact. As the inaugural Senior Director of Strategy & Impact, Jennifer will lead and expand CLE’s state and local work, deepening the organization’s investments in target geographies and increasing alignment across our projects. 

Jennifer’s work will be supported by Wendy Tucker, who is also taking on a new role at CLE. As CLE’s Senior Policy Fellow, Wendy will continue to lead the development and pursuit of CLE’s federal policy agenda, focusing on advancing and protecting the civil rights of students with disabilities and on advocacy around federal charter school policy to prioritize technical assistance and school readiness to educate students with disabilities.

The Spotlight

On March 4th, the world lost disability activist Judy Heumann. Heumann's life work helped change the landscape for individuals with disabilities. Her energy, knowledge and tenacity will truly be missed. Learn more about Judy Heumann and her work through this commentary from NPR.

In 2019, the Center for Learner Equity established the Eileen M. Ahearn Education Visionary Award to honor an individual or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to ensure that students with disabilities who are interested in attending charter schools are able to access and thrive alongside their peers. This year's recipient is Marty Mittnacht, who is a determined advocate for quality access and outcomes for students with disabilities and served as the State Director of Special Education in Massachusetts for 25 years. Learn more about the award and Marty here.

Policy Highlights

Banning Corporal Punishment in Public Schools

On March 24, Secretary Cardona issued a Dear Colleague Letter condemning corporal punishment and urging all states to instead focus on more holistic approaches to behavior. CLE released a statement echoing Secretary Cardona's desire to see these harmful, barbaric practices immediately prohibited in every school across the country. We support Secretary Cardona as he urges Congress to take quick action to ban the use of corporal punishment in all public schools by passing the Protecting All Students in Schools Act.

Accommodations for College Students

On March 30th, the bipartisan Respond, Innovate, Support, and Empower (RISE) Act was reintroduced in the Senate. The RISE Act is a bill that allows students entering college to use their high school documentation to prove the need for accommodations. CLE is listed as one of the many organizations supporting this bill. Read more about the RISE Act and what it means for students with disabilities here.

Resources and Events

Lauren Morando Rhim Co-writes

"Bracing for a Tidal Wave of Unnecessary Special Education Referrals"

CLE executive director, Lauren Morando Rhim co-authored a piece with colleagues from the Advocacy Institute, Council for Exceptional Children, and the National Center for Learning Disabilities titled “Bracing for a Tidal Wave of Unnecessary Special Education Referrals". The commentary explores how disrupted learning and trauma related behaviors may be conflated with disabilities, making the case that school districts are ill-prepared for the impacts of Covid-19 including high absenteeism, shortages of special education teachers, and minimal academic gains. Read the full article on The 74 Million here.

Lauren Morando Rhim quoted in K-12 Dive article regarding recent GAO reports

The GAO (Government Accountability office) found that public charter schools receiving federal grants reported a higher student enrollment growth than charter schools that did not receive those funds. K-12 Dive explored the increased enrollment at these institutions and also examined how students with disabilities fit into these enrollment trends. When asked to weigh in on the findings, CLE executive director, Lauren Morando Rhim stated:

“I think that the greatest thing charters could do is to be more intentional about developing programs, instructional programs and supports for kids with disabilities and making sure that parents are aware of them.”

Read the complete article here.

NOLA Educator Listening Session

In partnership with NOLA Public Schools, CLE has been conducting a multi-phase collaborative study to determine the feasibility of centralizing aspects of special education across the city’s decentralized system of autonomous schools. CLE is preparing to launch case studies examining similar models of centralization in California, Colorado, and Texas. In service of case study planning, on March 1st CLE hosted a virtual event for New Orleans charter school and special education leaders to hear their feedback. Separately, CLE’s partners at NOLA Public Schools publicly briefed the Orleans Parish School Board during the February board meeting, receiving positive feedback from board members about CLE's endeavor.

CLE Friendsraising Luncheon: NYC

On March 6th, CLE hosted its first "Friendraising" event at Ocean Prime in New York City. The goal of this luncheon was to facilitate a meeting of leaders from various organizations in the NYC area that are dedicated to serving students with disabilities in charter schools. Individuals in attendance included school leaders, support organization leaders, funders, and government leaders. Attendees engaged in thought provoking conversation, in addition to expanding their network outside of their organizations. We look forward to hosting "friendraising" events in various locations throughout the country to cultivate new and existing relationships with thought partners.

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