(1) Alternative
education is a non-traditional, short-term academic program or school designed
to meet the student's educational, behavioral, and social needs. Alternative
education includes alternative schools and alternative programs.
(2) Alternative school means a short-term
intervention program designed to provide educational services outside of the
regular school program for students who have been suspended or expelled.
Alternative schools are located in a separate facility from the regular school
program.
(3) Alternative program
means a short-term intervention program designed to provide educational
services outside of the regular school program for students who have been
suspended or expelled. Alternative programs may be located within the regular
school or be a self-contained program within a school. Alternative programs
include, but are not limited to, night schools or in-school
suspension.
(4) Pursuant to T.C.A.
§ 49-6-3402(i) alternative schools and alternative programs may provide
virtual instruction to students assigned to the alternative school or
alternative program through a virtual school or virtual program in accordance
with State Board Virtual Education Rule
0520-01-03-.05. Tracking of
student attendance for students assigned to an alternative school or
alternative program who are receiving virtual instruction shall comply with the
attendance procedures set forth in State Board Virtual Education Rule
0520-01-03-.05.
(5) Pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-6-3402,
local boards of education may establish alternative schools or alternative
programs for students in grades one (1) through six (6) who have been suspended
or expelled from the regular school program.
(6) Attendance in an alternative school or
alternative program shall be voluntary for students in grades one through six
(1-6) who have been suspended or expelled from the regular school program,
unless the local board of education adopts a policy mandating attendance in
either instance.
(7) A local board
of education shall establish at least one (1) alternative school or alternative
program for students in grades seven (7) through twelve (12) who have been
suspended or expelled. Attendance in an alternative school or alternative
program is mandatory for students in grades seven (7) through twelve (12) who
have been suspended for more than ten (10) days or expelled from the regular
school program if space and staff are available. Space and staff availability
shall be determined by the LEA at the time the disciplinary decision is
rendered.
(a) Attendance in an alternative
school or alternative program is not mandatory for students in grades seven (7)
through twelve (12) who have been expelled from the regular school program for
committing a zero-tolerance offense. However, this does not prohibit a director
of schools, or a director's designee, from assigning a student who has been
expelled from the regular school program for committing a zero-tolerance
offense to an alternative school or alternative program.
(b) A director of schools, or a director's
designee, is not required to assign a student in grades seven (7) through
twelve (12) who has been suspended for more than ten (10) days or expelled from
the regular school program for an offense of violence or threatened violence,
or an offense that threatened the safety of persons attending or assigned to
the student's school, to an alternative school or alternative program if
conditions set forth in T.C.A. § 49-6-3402(c)(1)(C) are met.
(8) Students in pre-Kindergarten
or Kindergarten shall not be assigned to an alternative school or alternative
program.
(9) Each local board of
education shall adopt a policy regarding alternative education that is aligned
to this Rule and that defines and provides appropriate educational
opportunities for all students assigned to an alternative school or alternative
program. The policy shall recognize the impact of exclusionary discipline
practices on students, and placement in an alternative education program should
be reserved for infractions that significantly disrupt the educational process.
LEAs shall utilize the Model Standards for Alternative Education Programs
developed by the Department of Education as a guideline in development of their
policies and procedures.
(10)
Requirements for alternative education:
(a)
The scope, sequence, and pacing of instruction shall proceed as nearly as
practicable in accordance with the instructional program in the student's
regular school. Instruction shall be based on the academic standards adopted by
the State Board.
(b) All course
work and credits earned shall be transferred and recorded in the student's home
school, which shall grant credit earned and progress thereon as if earned in
the home school.
(c) Students shall
participate in all required state assessments at sites determined by school
officials and in accordance with established guidelines regarding student grade
levels and eligibility. State assessment results shall be reported in the LEA
where the student was enrolled prior to his or her placement in the alternative
school.
(d) Each alternative school
or alternative program shall comply with class size requirements established in
T.C.A. § 49-1-104 and instructional and planning time requirements
established by the State Board. Nothing shall prohibit an LEA from establishing
a lower class size ratio in an alternative school or alternative
program.
(e) The minimum length of
the school day for alternative schools and alternative programs shall be six
and one-half (61/2) hours, provided that alternative schools and
alternative programs may operate beyond traditional school hours to provide
students with a range of educational opportunities.
(f) LEAs shall monitor and regularly evaluate
the academic progress of each student enrolled in an alternative school or
alternative program.
(g) Students
are subject to all rules pertaining to the alternative school or alternative
program.
1. The director of schools, or the
director's designee, may remove a student from the alternative school or
alternative program if the director, or the director's designee, determines
that:
(i) The student has violated the rules
of the alternative school or alternative program; or
(ii) The student is not benefiting from the
student's assignment to the alternative school or alternative program, and all
interventions available to help the student to succeed in the alternative
school or alternative program have been exhausted unsuccessfully.
2. A student's removal from the
alternative school or alternative program shall not constitute grounds for
extending the length of original suspension or expulsion.
3. The director of schools, or the director's
designee, shall make the final decision on removal.
(h) If a student has an active Individualized
Education Program (IEP), a 504 plan, or is suspected of having a disability,
all state and federal laws and rules relating to students with disabilities and
special education shall be followed. The IEP team shall make all decisions
regarding change of placement and delivery of services for students with
disabilities. No student with a disability shall be arbitrarily placed in an
alternative school or alternative program.
(i) Prior to the assignment of a student to
an alternative school or alternative program, the LEA shall provide written
notice, which includes the reason for the student's placement, to the student's
parent or guardian. Reasons for placement in an alternative school or
alternative program must be documented. End of year reports must be made to the
regular school for each student.
(j) Each teacher providing instruction to
students in an alternative school or alternative program shall be licensed to
teach in Tennessee and shall meet the qualifications to teach in compliance
with the rules and regulations of the State Board.
(k) Alternative schools shall have an
appropriately licensed administrator assigned to supervise the
school.
(l) Support services such
as counseling and psychological services must be accessible.
(m) Each LEA shall develop and implement
formal transition plans for the integration of students from a traditional
school to an alternative school or from an alternative school back to a
traditional school. Transition plans shall be targeted to improve communication
between a traditional school and an alternative school staff and should address
any barriers that would prohibit students from successfully transitioning.
Transition plans shall include aligning of curricula, intake procedures for
students returning to traditional school, professional development
opportunities for traditional and alternative school staff, educational and
behavioral supports, follow-up for students returning to traditional school,
and the development of graduation and postsecondary goals.
(n) All alternative school classrooms shall
have working two-way communication systems that make it possible for teachers
or other employees to notify a principal, supervisor, or other administrator
that there is an emergency.
(o) It
is the responsibility of the director of schools to ensure that all alternative
school teachers and other employees have been trained to use the two-way
communication system and are notified of emergency procedures prior to the
beginning of classes for any school year and when changes are made in the
emergency procedures and/or personnel. Such emergency procedures shall be
linked to the school and school district emergency preparedness plan.
(p) LEAs shall submit an annual alternative
education survey to the Department that provides the following information:
1. Alternative schools or alternative
programs currently in operation in the LEA;
2. Number and grade level of students
served;
3. Primary reason for
student assignment;
4. Number of
faculty and staff; and
5.
Information required by T.C.A. § 49-6-3405.
(11) Funding:
(a) Students attending an alternative school
or alternative program shall continue to earn funding through the state's K-12
education funding formula for the LEA in which the student is
enrolled.
(12)
Facilities:
(a) A local board of education
may not contract or otherwise affiliate with an alternative school program
which requires an order of a court as a precondition of placement in such
alternative school.
(b) A local
board of education may contract with independent contractors to provide
alternative school facilities and other appropriate services consistent with
T.C.A. § 49-2-203.
(c) A local
board of education may establish its own facility.
(d) Two (2) or more boards may join together
and establish an alternative school attended by students from any such
LEA.
(e) Through a mutually
accepted agreement with another local board of education, a board may send its
suspended or expelled students to an alternative school already existing in
another LEA or may enter into an agreement with an LEA that established a
virtual school to provide virtual instruction to students who have been
suspended or expelled.
