Charter schools are publicly funded and must follow federal, state and local laws prohibiting discrimination in who they serve. Yet nationally, charter schools serve lower percentages of students with disabilities and English Language Learners. In many districts, charter schools have higher rates of suspension and expulsion than traditional public schools. And there is significant anecdotal evidence that charter schools also engage in subtle strategies to discourage some students from enrolling or to push out students once they’re in the school.

If you are a student, or the parent of a student that feels they have been pushed out of a charter school, you are not alone. If you are an educator who has felt the impact of push-outs on traditional public schools, or felt uncomfortable being part of a school that regularly turns children away, you are not alone.

We want to hear your stories.

Failing to provide appropriate services for students who attend a charter school, or denying enrollment to a student on the basis of the services they may require impacts all of us and may be illegal. The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools is interested in documenting the breadth of this problem.

Please use the submission form to the right to tell us about your personal experience. You may upload a first-person “testimony” in writing, or you can send a short (no more than 3 minutes) video by uploading it through YouTube or Vimeo and sharing the URL with us.

We won't share your story publicly without your consent. We may contact you to discuss your experiences further.