Fariña won’t budge on decision to eliminate middle school at charter serving kids with disabilities

For the second time in two months, the city’s education department has ruled that a Harlem charter school, which serves an outsized share of students with disabilities, should be forced to shutter its middle school.

In March, with Opportunity Charter School’s charter up for renewal, the city ruled that the middle school was too low-performing to remain open, and only offered a short-term renewal for the high school. OCS appealed the city’s decision to close the middle school, arguing that city officials had not sufficiently taken into account that over half its students have disabilities.

But on Friday, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña upheld the city’s original decision, effectively denying the school’s appeal. “Charter schools must do more than just enroll these special populations,” according to Fariña’s letter to the school, which city officials refused to disclose upon request and was independently obtained by Chalkbeat.

“They must demonstrate that they are retaining such students and serving them well,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, it is clear from the data that OCS has not done that.”

The standoff between OCS and the city highlights a larger dilemma about how to fairly evaluate charter schools that serve high-need populations, and exactly how effective a charter school must be to justify its existence.

A dispute with the city also flared up five years ago, when it tried to close Opportunity Charter entirely — a decision that was later reversed.

Still, Fariña’s decision is unsurprising: After all, OCS was effectively appealing to the same people that recommended closing down its middle school in the first place. (The education department is Opportunity Charter’s authorizer, giving it the authority to decide if the school should be allowed to stay open.)

But Friday’s decision is unlikely to be the final word on whether the city gets its way. Opportunity Charter School filed a lawsuit against the education department last week that challenges the city’s rationale for closing its middle school. And on Monday, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge allowed the school’s middle school admissions process to move forward for next year so the court can consider the merits of the case.

In the meantime, “Nothing will change, the status quo continues,” said Kevin Quinn, a lawyer who is representing the school. He said the court will hear arguments May 18, and will decide whether to keep the middle school open as the case unfolds.