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The Special Education Observatory · District

Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield

Springfield, Massachusetts · Independent charter district · NCES district ID 2500555 · 1 school

  • 158students enrolledPrekindergarten through grade 12
  • 40school-age students with IEPsPlus 0 ages 3 to 5
  • 25.3%of enrolled students have an IEPMassachusetts 19.8% · nation 15.3%
  • Not publishedin general education 80% or more of the dayMassachusetts 67.0% · nation 67.9%

Public data for the 2024–25 school year · Data retrieved October 4, 2026

Where students learn

Each setting for school-age students with IEPs, with Massachusetts marked. A share over fewer than 10 students is not published.

Share of school-age students with IEPs in each setting, Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield, with Massachusetts marked. The table beside it gives the same figures.
  • In general education 80% or more of the dayNot published
  • In general education 40% to 79% of the dayNot published
  • In general education less than 40% of the day0.0%
  • Separate school0.0%
  • Residential facility0.0%
  • Homebound or hospital0.0%
  • Correctional facility0.0%
  • Parentally placed in private school0.0%
Where students learn, Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield
SettingStudentsShareMassachusettsUnited States
In general education 80% or more of the dayNot publishedNot published67.0%67.9%
In general education 40% to 79% of the dayNot publishedNot published12.3%15.2%
In general education less than 40% of the day00.0%13.5%13.0%
Separate school00.0%5.4%2.5%
Residential facility00.0%0.4%0.1%
Homebound or hospital00.0%0.4%0.3%
Correctional facility00.0%Less than 0.1%0.1%
Parentally placed in private school00.0%1.4%1.8%

What may be driving it

Where Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield sits among Massachusetts's districts on five measures, beside the state.

Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield among Massachusetts districts on five measures. Each row gives the figure and its rank.
  • Identification rate25.3%34th highest of 374
  • In general education 80% or more of the dayNot published354 with a figure
  • In separate settings0.0%74th highest of 178
  • Spending per studentNot published318 with a figure
  • School-age poverty (estimate)Not published291 with a figure

Questions worth asking

  1. 25.3% of Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield's students have an IEP, 5.5 points above Massachusetts (19.8%). How do referral, evaluation and eligibility practices shape that share?[1][3]
  2. 0.0% of students with IEPs learn in separate settings, against 5.8% for Massachusetts. What share of special education spending follows those placements?[2]

These figures describe; they do not explain. Each question is a starting point for a conversation, not a finding.

Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield beside Massachusetts and the nation

Each figure names its source and year below. Spending is the Census Bureau’s fiscal year 2024, the 2023–24 school year.

Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield compared with Massachusetts and the United States
MeasurePhoenix Academy Public Charter High School SpringfieldMassachusettsUnited States
Identification rateSchool-age students with IEPs, over all students enrolled prekindergarten through grade 1225.3%19.8%15.3%
In general education 80% or more of the dayStudents with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21Not published67.0%67.9%
In general education less than 40% of the dayStudents with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 210.0%13.5%13.0%
School-age poverty (estimate)Related residents ages 5 to 17 living within the district’s boundariesNot published10.4%14.4%
Spending per studentAll students enrolled in the school system (Census fall membership)Not published$24,429$17,314

Circuit breaker reimbursement

What Massachusetts reimbursed Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield for high-cost special education, by fiscal year, as DESE publishes it.

DESE's file lists no circuit breaker claim for Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield in fiscal years 2022 to 2026.

Massachusetts statewide, fiscal year 2026: 10,759 students claimed, $654,908,055 reimbursed.

The circuit breaker is Massachusetts' special education reimbursement program (M.G.L. c. 71B, § 5A). When the cost of educating one student with a disability passes a threshold the state sets, the state reimburses the district for a share of the cost above it. A payment in one fiscal year reimburses the previous year's costs. "Students claimed" counts the students whose costs the district claimed; "reimbursement" is the total DESE paid that fiscal year.

Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Special Education Circuit Breaker Reimbursements (Education-to-Career hub dataset ab34-d3ma), fiscal years 2022 to 2026. educationtocareer.data.mass.gov. Retrieved October 5, 2026. Public record of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; attribute DESE.

How these figures are built

Both parts. Rates use only the districts that reported both parts of the fraction. A district missing either part is left out of that rate, never counted as zero.

Not published. Not published means the publisher suppressed the figure to protect student privacy, did not report it, or the count is fewer than 10 students. It is never zero.

Students with IEPs, school age
Students with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21 served under IDEA Part B on the state’s child count date.Who is counted: Students with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21.Source: IDEA Section 618 Part B Child Count (file specification 002), district level, 2024–25 school year.
Identification rate
School-age students with IEPs as a share of all students enrolled in the same districts. A district that sends students to another district’s schools can count residents with IEPs it does not enroll, so its rate can run high.Who is counted: School-age students with IEPs, over all students enrolled prekindergarten through grade 12.Source: IDEA Section 618 Part B Child Count (file specification 002), district level, 2024–25 school year.Both parts: School-age students with IEPs (IDEA child count), over Students enrolled (Common Core of Data membership).
In general education 80% or more of the day
Share of school-age students with IEPs inside the regular class 80% or more of the school day.Who is counted: Students with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21.Source: IDEA Section 618 Part B Educational Environments (file specification 089), district level, 2024–25 school year.Both parts: Students in this setting, over All school-age students with IEPs in the environments file.
In general education less than 40% of the day
Share of school-age students with IEPs inside the regular class less than 40% of the school day.Who is counted: Students with IEPs ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21.Source: IDEA Section 618 Part B Educational Environments (file specification 089), district level, 2024–25 school year.Both parts: Students in this setting, over All school-age students with IEPs in the environments file.
School-age poverty (estimate)
Estimated share of related residents ages 5 to 17 living in families in poverty, within the district’s boundaries. A model-based estimate with a margin of error.Who is counted: Related residents ages 5 to 17 living within the district’s boundaries.Source: SAIPE school district estimates, Income year 2024.Both parts: Residents ages 5 to 17 in families in poverty, over Related residents ages 5 to 17.
Spending per student
Current spending on elementary-secondary education per pupil, as the Census Bureau publishes it: spending for students outside the system’s fall membership, capital outlay and debt service are excluded.Who is counted: All students enrolled in the school system (Census fall membership).Source: Public elementary-secondary education finance data, per-pupil spending by school system (table elsec24t), Fiscal year 2024 (the 2023–24 school year).Both parts: Current elementary-secondary spending, over Fall membership.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. IDEA Section 618 Part B Child Count (file specification 002), district level, 2024–25 school year. data.ed.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  2. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. IDEA Section 618 Part B Educational Environments (file specification 089), district level, 2024–25 school year. data.ed.gov. Licensed CC BY. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  3. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Common Core of Data, district membership (final), 2024–25 school year. nces.ed.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  4. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Common Core of Data, district directory (final), 2024–25 school year. nces.ed.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  5. U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. SAIPE school district estimates, Income year 2024. www.census.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  6. U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33). Public elementary-secondary education finance data, per-pupil spending by school system (table elsec24t), Fiscal year 2024 (the 2023–24 school year). www.census.gov. Public domain. Retrieved October 4, 2026.

Cite as: PULSE Observatory, Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield (Massachusetts), public data, 2024–25 school year. https://www.pulseforeducation.com/observatory/districts/2500555-phoenix-academy-public-charter-high-school-springfield

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