Questions raised over special needs students missing from Partnership schools

&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-1293" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;02&sol;qpec&lowbar;logo&lowbar;300x225&period;jpg" alt&equals;"qpec logo 300x225" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"225" &sol;>Quality Public Education Coalition &lpar;QPEC&rpar; is questioning whether Partnership schools are meeting the needs of high-needs students&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Spokesperson Liz Gordon says it was revealed in the House last Thursday that no Partnership&sol;charter school has any high needs students on the roll&comma; leaving the state schools in those areas to grapple with the most challenging students&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;It appears that these schools have found ways to cream off the best students among high needs groups&comma; leaving the rest for state schools to tackle&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;QPEC has been tracking charter schools internationally for years&comma; and one of the clearest trends is that children with disabilities are discouraged from attending charter schools&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Ms Gordon says&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>We predicted that this would happen with <a class&equals;"wpil&lowbar;keyword&lowbar;link" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz&sol;2015&sol;11&sol;high-level-of-interest-in-partnership-schools-applications-welcomed&sol;" title&equals;"Partnership Schools" data-wpil-keyword-link&equals;"linked" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">Partnership Schools<&sol;a> in New Zealand too&period; QPEC is opposed to charter schools in New Zealand because there is not a jot of evidence that they are effective in educating our highest-needs children&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The Minister now apparently agrees&period; In putting the next Partnership School round on hold&comma; she is indicating a failing faith in the model&period; This&comma; in particular&comma; is a slap in the face for Undersecretary David Seymour&comma; whose sole justification for being in Parliament is to oversee the implementation of charter schools&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;