D.C.'s Charter Schools Maintain Higher Expulsion Rate

The District of Columbia's public charter schools are expelling students at a far higher rate than traditional public schools.

Charter schools expelled 676 students over the past three years, while the traditional public schools expelled only 24.

According to an analysis by The Washington Post, the discrepancy underscores the autonomy of the publicly funded charter schoolswhich have more latitude in deciding what student behavior they will not tolerate. When charter schools expel students mid-year, those students then enroll in public schools, which are legally bound to take them.

In a written statement last year, D.C. public charter school board executive director Scott Pearson said they are "reexamining their discipline policies" after numbers first surfaced for the 2011-12 school year.