It ALWAYS Comes Up: Renewals and Special Education
Special Education seems to always come up while going through the renewals process. This session is designed for charter leaders who would like to learn best practice strategies for talking to authorizers about special education. It will provide insight on how to prepare for a hearing in order to win - the arguments, the votes, and in the court of public opinion. Participants will learn about questions that frequently come up and ways to answer them, as well as ways to counter common negative narratives about special education in charter schools.
Presented by
Managing Director of Special Education
Alpha Public Schools
Russ Michaud is the Managing Director of Special Education at Alpha Public Schools, a public TK-12 charter network in San Jose. He joined Alpha in 2014 as the founding Director of Special Education; in this role, he’s worked to build out the internal special education department, including the staffing model, compliance structures, and continuum of services. Russ has also served as a commissioner on California’s Advisory Committee on Special Education since 2023. Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Ithaca College and his master’s degree in educational leadership from San Jose State University.