Report: Arizona charter schools have discriminatory admissions policies

PHOENIX — A new report from the ACLU of Arizona suggested that charter schools use subtle tactics to discourage students they don’t want.

Steve Kilar with the organization said the report detailed a ten-month investigation of 471 charter schools in the state.

He said the schools use techniques ranging from discouraging children who don’t have strong grades or test scores to refusing enrollment unless parents commit to volunteering or donating money.

“Arizona law is very clear: Charter schools must enroll any student, unless the school is at capacity or the student has been expelled previously,” Kilar said.

Kilar said at least six Arizona charter schools placed an enrollment cap on the number of students with special-education needs.

“That’s a clear violation of state and federal law,” he said.

Eileen Sigmund, the president of the Arizona Charter Schools Association, disagreed with the ACLU’s findings.

“Arizona charter schools are public schools and open to every Arizona family,” she said. “That is the law and has been the guiding principal behind the charter movement over the past two decades.”

Sigmund called the report an “attack” that makes “broad-brush accusations that do not violate the law and are misleading” and claimed that the ACLU has an “anti-charter agenda.”

“We will continue to draw a bright line against any practices that violate state and federal law,” she said, adding that the association recommends that schools review their policies annually.

“Forcing any child to stay in a failing school is what real enrollment suppression looks like.”

Editor’s note: KTAR News’ Griselda Zetino helped investigate and write the ACLU of Arizona report that was referenced in this story. She did not contribute to this article. 

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