This digest examines the unique nature of public charter schools, explains their obligations to students with disabilities, and presents the results of two federally funded studies of special education in charter schools. It finds wide variations among the 37 states which permit charter schools. The digest stresses the importance of the legal identity of the charter school, such as whether the school is an independent local education agency or tied in varying degrees to a larger district. Among the studies' findings are the following: enrollment of students with more significant disabilities in charter schools is relatively rare; most schools have little data to document the impact of their programs on students with disabilities; and most charter school operators have limited understanding of special education funding sources. Two critical policy conflicts are identified: (1) team vs. parental choice in educational decision making; and (2) charter school autonomy vs. regulation of special education. The digest concludes that charter schools need to be connected with a special education infrastructure. (Contains 10 resources.) (DB)