Charter schools that don't enroll as many kids with disabilities or limited English as do traditional public schools would be shut down under a bill introduced by a top Democrat in the state Senate, The Post has learned.
State Senate Conference leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) has quietly introduced legislation that would revoke the state license of charter schools that don't meet a quota for enrolling special-needs kids over two consecutive years.
"A charter school must enroll the same or a greater percentage of students with disabilities and limited-English-proficient students when compared to the enrollment figures for such students in the school district in which the charter school is located," the bill states.
The bill -- which mirrors recommendations made by the United Federation of Teachers in January -- also has the backing of Assemblyman Alan Masiel (D-Brooklyn) and 19 other Assembly Democrats.
But charter advocates slammed the Sampson quota bill as impractical and punitive. They noted that many of the traditional public schools also enroll a small number of special-needs students -- but only charters are singled out for closure.
"It would punish the kids who are learning in charter schools. What would that accomplish?" said New York City Charter School Center director James Merriman.
Under current law, charters select their students via lottery and are required to make good-faith efforts to recruit special-needs students.
State test results show that charter schools generally outperform traditional public schools on English and math exams.
Unions claim charter schools score higher because they serve far fewer special-needs students -- though a recent Stanford University study found that the city's charter students still score better in an "apples to apples" comparison.
About 4 percent of charter students are English-language learners, compared with 14 percent in traditional schools, UFT officials said.
And less than 12 percent of charter kids are special-education students, compared with 17 percent in traditional public schools, the Department of Education said.
