There are often extra costs, loopholes, and restrictions students experience in leaving a public school to attend a private/charter school.
Hidden Costs - Vouchers don’t necessarily cover the full cost to attend the private school. (Uniforms, field trip costs, tutoring, and more).
Specialized education plans often not allowed (504 plans or IEPS) Many private and charter schools are not able to honor a transfer of your child’s 504 plan from a public school. A 504 plan consists of federally recognized accommodations that public schools must honor. Examples of plans are letting student take a test in a quiet environment (not a classroom with all the other students) for dysgraphia and dyslexia. Some students may not be identified immediately for a 504 plan until later in public school.
Families are often out of luck in the case of a complaint, suspension, or expulsion It’s critical for families to review the contracts signed with private or charter schools. A family doesn’t have the same procedures in place to contest decisions a charter/private school may make – a grade, expulsion, suspension, the list goes on. Public school districts provide the opportunity to appeal a complaint, suspension, or expulsion to the school board. Charter and private schools are governed instead by independent boards of trustees, not elected officials.
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