s program, was established in a housing project in Syracuse, NY and served a predominantly urban student population (Knoblock, 1966). Viewed together, these efforts to provide alternative schooling signaled a major shift in philosophy, as each of these programs put emphasis on education as a way to directly influence the life circumstances of troubled children and youth.
One might argue that enactment of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142), in 1975, slowed the development of innovative programs-especially for students with challenging behavior. With this landmark legislation, federal dollars were appropriated to support breath rather than depth of services for children identified with a range of mild to severe disabilities. Recent legislation may be having an adverse effect on alternative programs as well. With the institution of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), programs that once operated autonomously now are being subjected to increased external control.
Today, alternative education occupies a position o\f increased acceptability and respectability. As Fitzsimmons Hughes et al. (2006) assert, mounting recognition of the legitimate role of alternative schools is attributable, at least in part, to recent federal legislation. Both the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (2004) call into question the longstanding practice of suspension and expulsion of students who engage in disruptive classroom behavior and both substitute language that places importance on “expel but educate” (Fitzsimmons Hughes et al., 2006). At a legislative level, alternative schools are no longer dumping grounds for those students who exhibit norm-violating behavior that prohibits them (or others) from reaching academic and social success (Fuller & Sabatino, 1996). Even so, the tremendous pressure associated with high stakes standards-based testing has lead some school officials to push out low performers and troublemakers-including students from diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds (e.g., Lehr & Lange, 2003; Skiba & Peterson, 2000, 2003; Townsend, 2000).
Over time, there has been a significant increase in the number of alterative schools. This increase includes: charter schools; court schools; detention schools; magnet schools; day treatment and educational centers; residential schools; schools-without-walls; alternative learning centers; and second chance schools, to mention a few (Fitzsimmons Hughes et al., 2006; Quinn & Rutherford, 1998). The clientele run the gamut from students identified as gifted and talented to students that have engaged in multiple acts of aggression.
Estimates regarding the number of alternative programs for children and youth vary widely, ranging from 10,900-20,000 (cf. Kleiner, Porch, & Farris, 2002; Lehr & Lange, 2003). Conservatively speaking, these alternative schools serve well over 600,000′students. That number does not include the 20,000 adolescents that desperate parents and exasperated judges annually place in so-called “tough love” programs (Tough Love Programs, 2006, p. 12). Nor do we know how many other programs function as “interim alternative educational settings” (IAES) as school divisions seek to meet requirements regarding students with disabilities subjected to disciplinary actions pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (Peterson & Smith, 2002).
Characteristics of alternative schools. Notwithstanding their growing popularity, little unanimity is apparent regarding what constitutes an alternative school. Raywid (1994) discussed three types of alternative programs. One type was an innovative school, designed to be more humane, challenging, and engaging than the traditional education programs. The second type of alternative program represents last chance schools to which students are assigned or sentenced. Usually, these programs constitute one last chance before student expulsion and placement in a more restrictive setting. The third type is the remedial school that is intended for t