From the Washington Post:

A private school faces closure after the District of Columbia decided to pull 170 students with disabilities, citing concerns about the quality of instruction. Officials at Accotink Academy said they planned to fight the decision and had not been told of any concerns before notices were sent to parents.

The District has nearly 9,300 special education students, including those in public charter schools, and about 30 percent of them are enrolled in private schools because the District can’t meet their needs. The cost to taxpayers in tuition and transportation is about $200 million a year. Accotink Academy has been receiving about $10 million a year from the D.C. school system, according to District figures.

[Correspondence from the District to the school] said that Accotink staff members were “indifferent” to the students and that the quality of teaching was “quite low.” It also said teachers didn’t seem to be following individualized education plans, which guide instruction for special education students.

Several parents said they hadn’t noticed any problems and are worried about their children switching schools mid-year.

See also: D.C. parents decry move against private school — Washington Post

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 at 3:37 pm and is filed under IDEA, budget, education, special education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.