A Case Study of School Choice and Special Education in the 21st Century

School choice is deeply rooted in the marketization theories originally presented by Milton Friedman in the 1950s. There are many school choice options available in Arizona. The purpose and primary research question of this case study explored how a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and other factors influenced the parents' decisions to move their children with disabilities from public to private school settings in Maricopa County, Arizona. Secondary research questions were designed to identify what factors, including FAPE, played a role in their decisions, and what their experience has been at the new schools. The sample included 24 parents from Maricopa County who obtained Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) to transfer their children from public to private schools. Data collection instruments included: An online questionnaire, followed by interviews, and a focus group. Analysis strategies included percentages for the Likert scaled questionnaire items and inductive, thematic coding for interviews. The results of the study revealed seven major categories: Parents understood their rights under FAPE, a child's unique needs, faculty and staff factors, school choice factors, obtaining special education services, educational factors and financial factors. An underlying finding throughout the study that connected all of the factors was the ambiguity of the word "appropriate" as it relates to FAPE. If educators can support parents of children with disabilities in their school choice decisions, teachers are trained in good parent communication techniques, and if there is a more well-honed definition of the word "appropriate" with regard to FAPE, parents and public schools can work together to ensure that all children with disabilities receive the education they need.