The ins and outs of alternate setting education

Education

The Ins and Outs of Alternate Setting Education By Carrie Cercone, director of day treatment at Education Alternatives Elyria

Many parents are curious about alternate setting programs or “alternative schools” for children struggling with social-emotional issues. Many have questions or uncertainties about reaching out to a program or may be unsure whether their child qualifies. Alternative schools are designed to provide more intensive special education services for specific students who need that extra support.

These students typically are on IEPs for behavioral challenges. In most cases, they are struggling in a public school setting with anything from staying on task to showing safe behaviors, completing academics, following directions and more.

The alternate setting is a unique benefit to these students. The main benefit is the social-emotional behavior piece, which they do not receive as consistently or for as many hours of their school day in their public school.

While they learn offsite, all students are still enrolled in their public school. High school students receive diplomas

from their public school. Alternative schools are providing special education services and mental health services for students in the same way, but the only difference is students are on a different campus.

Alternate setting programs provide special education services and, like public schools, will have specific plans in place to keep students safe during COVID-19. These may include scheduling new student tours after hours, mandating face coverings, social distancing, and distance learning where appropriate.

There typically are two ways to enroll a child. The most common way is a school district placement. The other way is a parent/guardian placement through the Jon Peterson scholarship.

Students who qualify need a preexisting IEP. Most families start by scheduling a meeting with the IEP team to discuss the services and accommodations that they’ve already tried and the concern that the student still isn’t succeeding the way they should. The intervention specialist will reach out to the supervisor or director to see what they can do differently or if an alternate setting would be most appropriate.

Alternatively, parents can apply for the Jon Peterson scholarship if they’ve requested a separate facility and they haven’t gotten that outcome through the district. Jon Peterson is offered through the state of Ohio and applied through the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). As a first step, anyone considering a Jon Peterson scholarship should meet with the program they are considering and discuss the details of placement. Based on that meeting, if an application is appropriate, the next step is to submit. To apply, parents can go to the ODE website, education.ohio.gov, and apply for the scholarship. Once the scholarship is awarded, the student can go to any school that is a provider.

As building directors, Education Alternatives in Elyria is here to help families navigate this process. For more information, visit easchools.org/contact.