Many parents of students with IEPs lacked viable options to engage in school choice after forced school closings¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2028: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Many parents of students with IEPs did not have viable options to engage in school choice, partly because they perceived the short list of options from officials as the only schools available. → Cowhy 2023

Evidence¶

Cowhy 2023¶

Cowhy, J.R., Gordon, M.F., & de la Torre, M. (2023). Forced to choose: Lessons learned from families of students within special education. Educational Policy. https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048231198814

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Interview findings from 29 parents whose schools closed in 2013 report that "many parents of students with IEPs did not have viable options to engage in school choice." Parents perceived the short list from school- or district-based officials, including the welcoming school, as the only schools available.

"Yet many parents of students with IEPs did not have viable options to engage in school choice."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• A school's ability to implement a child's IEP was the first factor in parents' enrollment decisions, crowding out other school characteristics — related
• Parents' school choices were constrained by disability-linked safety fears and transportation barriers — related
• Parents of students with IEPs share a common vision of an ideal school that is safe, supportive, academically strong, and inclusive with needed supports — related
• Public school choice was constrained at the middle and high school levels because many districts have only one middle school and one high school — a broader claim this one bears on
• School location, distance from home, and transportation logistics constrained which high schools students considered and their ultimate choice — related
• Interviewed families enrolled in designated welcoming schools because the schools matched their priorities, because they believed enrollment there was mandatory, or because barriers limited other options — related
• For many families, academic quality meant factors different from the district's performance policy rating, such as after-school programs, class sizes, and school environment — related
• After school closings, proximity to home was the deciding factor in families' enrollment choices, outweighing school ratings — related
• In 2004-2005, only about one percent of the nearly 6.2 million students eligible for Title I school choice used the option, while about 17 percent of eligible students used supplemental educational services — related