When we think of charter schools, we often think of the flexible learning environment, the targeted focus, or the schools’ success with students from historically disadvantaged groups.
What we often miss is that Tennessee’s charter schools are also serving students with disabilities. Like any student population group, it takes specific attention to meet the unique needs of these students. Public charter schools in Tennessee are deeply engaged in that work with local and national partners today, and SCORE is eager to support collaborative networks like these, which are working to achieve even greater student success.
First, a little background. Across all school types in Tennessee, there is an opportunity to significantly improve outcomes for students with disabilities. In state-level data, the percent of students who met or exceeded expectations on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) was at least 18 percentage points lower than their nondisabled peers, with an average gap of 30 percentage points. Yet we know that 85% to 90% of all students with disabilities can be expected to reach grade-level achievement when provided with the best instruction, supports, and accommodations that mitigate the challenges of their disabilities and propel the student higher.Schools and districts are consistently working on ways to best support students with disabilities to close these gaps so that all Tennessee students can reach their potential.
Tennessee public charter schools inherently feature increased flexibility in addition to high accountability, which makes them a great school type to pilot new ways of supporting students with disabilities. Tennessee’s public charter schools are allowed flexibility to create their own schedules, design their own staffing models, and allocate their budget in line with their unique school model. While traditional district-run schools can go through processes to have more flexibility, charter schools can do so more nimbly. All these flexibilities allow charter schools to design innovative school models that uniquely meet students’ needs and provide a strong foundation to pilot different approaches for supporting students with disabilities.
With this groundwork in mind, SCORE is convening two networks of schools and education leaders who are focused on supporting students with disabilities at public charter schools in Nashville. The work can be used as a model for future, scalable work across public charter schools as well as traditional district-run schools.
Network #1: Coplanning for Differentiated Instruction
Classrooms work better when teachers are in sync. The first network highlighted here, IGNITE Nashville, brings together eight Nashville public charter schools focused on implementing and improving coplanning, a national best practice where general education and special education teachers plan together to intentionally support the needs of all students.
To support the IGNITE Nashville network, SCORE partnered with the Diverse Learners Cooperative, a local Nashville partner that works to improve outcomes of students with disabilities, and Marshall CoLab, a national partner committed to continuous improvement in education. In late 2024, this network kicked off with a training session for 38 teachers and site team leaders before schools began implementing the strategy later that month.
We anticipate this work, which joins a national movement through the IGNITE Network, will enhance the educational experience for students with disabilities by fostering collaborative teaching practices across participating schools. Across the U.S., this national coalition of 30 schools across five states is committed to making dramatic gains in the experiences, environments, and outcomes of Black and Latino students with disabilities who are also experiencing poverty.


Network #2: Financial Leadership That Creates the Conditions for Stronger Student Outcomes
The second network consists of finance leaders from six charter operators in Tennessee who are strengthening their financial acumen and leadership capabilities. These finance leaders are in a unique position to drive decisions that directly affect resources — particularly resources for students with disabilities, which represent a critical component in a comprehensive approach to improving outcomes.
This network brings together nine finance professionals to enhance both their technical skills and strategic leadership. SCORE has partnered with All Means All, a national leadership development program, to support this network through a proven framework of learning and applied practice. The network members collectively serve approximately 5,000 students in Nashville, making this effort impactful at both organizational and community levels. The program offers one-on-one coaching to deepen leaders’ financial strategy skills and cultivate a proactive, outcomes-focused culture. This framework will also guide them in applying best practices to the budget cycle for 2025-26 and other key milestones.


Next Steps for Supporting Students with Disabilities
These two networks will continue over the next one to two years, and SCORE is excited to learn alongside each of the administrators, teachers, and school leaders who are participating. As key learnings emerge, proof points are generated, and best practices are codified, SCORE is committed to sharing those learnings so that more schools can benefit from this work to improve outcomes for students with disabilities in Tennessee.