RD127 - Status of Regional Alternative Education Student Slots for 2008-2009 -- May 1, 2009


Executive Summary:
The Regional Alternative Education Programs were established by the General Assembly in 1993-1994 with the intent of involving two or more school divisions working in collaboration to establish options for students who have a pending violation of school board policy, have been expelled or suspended on a long-term basis, or are returning from juvenile correctional centers. The General Assembly provides state funding based on allocated slots to the programs. A funding formula based on a standard staffing model and the composite index of local ability to pay determines funding amounts for each of the 30 programs.

The Appropriation Act, Chapter 879, 2008 Acts of Assembly, states that “The Department of Education shall report by June 30 each year, to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees, the number of available student slots, students placed, the request of unused slots, and the number of unused slots subsequently used by each school division for each Regional Alternative Education program.”

Statewide, there were 1,822 slots allotted by formula among 30 regional alternative education programs for 2008-2009. Twenty-five of the 30 programs indicated that they would have placements for all slots assigned to each division in each regional program. Five regional programs reported that there would be unused slots in one of their participating divisions. In each of these five regional programs, one or more of the other participating school divisions requested the additional slots. There were no unused slots to distribute statewide.

As stipulated in the Appropriation Act, Chapter 879, 2008 Acts of Assembly, the requesting school division received only the state’s share of tuition for the unused slot that was allocated for the originally designated school division. Follow-up correspondence to the school divisions receiving the unused slots indicated that the reassigned slots were used by the school divisions.