HISD chief wonders if it’s time to drop alternative school program
By ERICKA MELLON | HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Jan. 3, 2010
Some Houston ISD principals banished as much as 11 percent of their students with disciplinary problems to a privately run alternative campus last school year, while other principals sent only one or two children away.
The wide disparity in principals' use of schools run by Community Education Partners has caught the attention of HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, who questions whether schools are kicking out too many students on trivial grounds.
Texas law requires that students be sent to disciplinary alternative programs for certain reasons — such as assault and selling or using drugs or alcohol — but gives principals discretion over less serious offenders.
“Why are some schools sending so many children to CEP for what on the surface look like much less serious disciplinary actions?” asked Grier, who, after four months on the job, has ordered a comprehensive review of the Houston Independent School District's arrangement with CEP.
The new superintendent is considering whether to ask the school board to end its $20 million annual contract with the Nashville, Tenn.-based company, which has run alternative schools in HISD since 1997.
If the district does oust CEP, Grier has said he likely would start an in-house alternative program like most other districts.
Principals disagree over the value of CEP. Some applaud the program, noting it helps the children sent there, as well as the students who remain on campus and who are then able to learn with fewer distractions.
Other principals, however, say they are reluctant to make referrals to CEP because they believe students there generally fall behind academically and don't return reformed. Even when students are at CEP, their scores on the high-stakes Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills count toward the academic ratings of their home schools.
“I do everything in my power to avoid having to send anyone to CEP,” said Bertie Simmons, the principal of Furr High School on the city's east side. “I have not felt that we've had great success with students that went to CEP. When they return to us, their behavior has not improved, and academically they're not as strong as when we sent them.”
Furr's rate is low
HISD records show that Furr had one of the lowest CEP referral rates during the 2008-09 school year — five referrals out of 881 students. Simmons remembers sending only one student, for hitting a teacher.
HISD students can be sent to CEP for up to 180 days, but the average placement is about half that, according to the company.
The district pays CEP a flat rate to serve as many as 1,600 students per school year.
The principal of Williams Middle School, Delesa O'Dell-Thomas, said she thinks CEP does “a great job.” She said most students return better-behaved, though she recalled one this year who was caught again with marijuana shortly after coming back from CEP.
“CEP is very necessary,” she said. “Oftentimes these are situations where teachers aren't able to teach.”
Williams Middle had the second-highest rate of referrals to CEP last year. The school, which had 449 students, made 49 referrals, according to data from HISD.
O'Dell-Thomas said she believes she had 39 students at CEP last year. The discrepancy could be due to repeat offenders and to students dropping out of HISD once they were sent away. The Williams principal said at least one parent last year decided to send her daughter, in trouble for fighting, to a charter school instead of to CEP.
“We tried our best to work with the parent, to work with the child,” O'Dell-Thomas said. “We could not get this situation settled.”
Pressure felt
According to HISD records, middle schools referred about twice as many students to CEP as high schools did last year. The campuses with the lowest rates of referral generally had a greater percentage of Anglo students and students from wealthier families.
Rolando “Rudy” Treviño, who was principal of Sam Houston's ninth-grade campus last year, said he felt pressured by the Houston Federation of Teachers to send more students to CEP. He made 32 referrals — representing less than 4 percent of his school's student population, according to the district's data.
“I was heavily criticized when I was at about 10 (referrals) in November,” Treviño said. “In my eyes I was sending kids to CEP and I was witnessing dropouts. I knew if I sent a kid to CEP, he or she was more than likely not going to pass their TAKS test.”
Teachers union President Gayle Fallon, one of the most outspoken supporters of CEP, said state law dictates many of the referrals there.
“When a kid threatens a teacher's life or physically assaults them, they're not coming back to the classroom,” she said. “I don't care if I have to sit their happy butts in Grier's office.”
Based on data from HISD and CEP, it appears the majority of the referrals last school year were discretionary under state law. But determining the exact number is difficult because the data from each entity differ slightly.
Rowdyism and drugs
According to CEP, about two-thirds — or more than 1,900 of the referrals — were because of “disruptive behavior.” The next most popular reason was drugs — a mandatory referral — followed by assault, defiance and truancy.
HISD's data show similar trends, with two-thirds of students referred under the broad category of violating the district's code of conduct — which could include mandatory reasons — followed by drugs, fighting and assault.
For principals, deciding when to send students to an alternative school — whether it's run by CEP or HISD — is a tough call, said Joel Rosch, a senior research scholar at Duke University's Center for Child and Family Policy.
“If you put kids with anti-social tendencies together, no matter how good the program is, they're going to get worse,” he said. “The problem is, if you leave these kids in the public school, they may be so deviant that no one learns anything. It's not easy.”
Showing posts with label alternative ed programs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alternative ed programs. Show all posts
Monday, January 11, 2010
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
A Fast-Track Alternative to a Teaching Job
By ELIZABETH OLSON
Published: October 14, 2009
ANXIETY about what comes next in midlife is gripping a lot of people these days, especially if their jobs are ending or they are nearing retirement age.
Wylie Schwieder mulled over his prospects as his consulting job was winding down. And when his wife of 20 years, Katie, a former corporate trainer and business writing coach, came home on Sept. 3, 2007, their wedding anniversary, he was waiting on the front porch of their Richmond, Va., house with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
“I’ve decided to become a teacher,” he told his wife.
“Really,” she replied. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
Mr. Schwieder, 52, a former executive at CarMax and Capital One bank, became interested after a local science teacher told him about a fast-track way to become a teacher.
The idea of studying intensely, then getting into the classroom quickly, appealed to the couple, who have four children. Within three weeks they had signed up with the Career Switchers program, the Virginia-based program that requires applicants to pass an Educational Testing Service exam in the subject matter they want to teach, take an online course and attend a series of meetings to learn classroom teaching skills.
The program, which has helped more than 500 people earn licenses, costs $3,150 and takes about 18 months to complete.
Armed with a provisional one-year license, the new teacher spends a year of monitored classroom instruction before earning a renewable five-year state teaching license. The Schwieders are both teaching full time now. Virginia certifies the program, which was started in 2004 to address the shortage of math, science, reading and English teachers. The placement rate, said Rebecca Waters, the director, was 80 percent last year. This year, in the state budget crunch, placement has fallen to 42 percent.
Even so, teachers in math and science still find jobs. And over the long term, teaching may be a job haven because of its relative security and good benefits. A report by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, a nonprofit research group, has estimated that about one million teachers could retire in the next four years. Career changers, according to a survey released in September 2008 by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, may help fill the anticipated vacancies. Among college-educated Americans 24 to 60 years old, the survey found, 42 percent would consider becoming a teacher.
But these alternative certification programs have their critics. A National Council on Teacher Quality report in 2007, for example, found that two-thirds of the programs were not selective in their admissions, accepting half or more of those who apply, and that instead of streamlining certification, they simply mimicked traditional teacher prep courses.
Virginia has one of the most streamlined programs for career changers and is among the 47 states that accept alternative teacher training. Over all, about 600 such programs contribute about 20 percent of the country’s new teachers each year, according to the Education Department.
One of the best-known programs nationally is the New Teacher Project, which this year had 40,000 applicants for its teaching fellow programs in 21 cities, which include New York and Chicago. That was up 44 percent from 2008. But only 10 percent of the applicants were accepted this year, compared with 15 percent last year, according to the project, which is based in Brooklyn.
Like the Career Switchers program in Virginia, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence offers an online program that costs $975 and has so far issued 1,900 certifications. They are accepted by nine states, including Florida, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The board says people 50 and older account for one-fifth of its participants.
Among them is Ron Halverson, 52, who worked for two decades at Hewlett-Packard in engineering and finance. After taking early retirement two years ago, he became certified and is in his second year of teaching special education at Borah High School in Boise, Idaho.
Pursuing a traditional teaching degree would have been too long and costly, he said.
“I would not have been able to afford or pursue a second career without this program,” he said of the American Board. But it is “sometimes looked at negatively by those who have gone the traditional academic route.”
In Missouri, Bill DeLoach, 59, had a career in business sales and management. He left an executive position in a regional mutual fund company and completed the American Board program in science. He is now teaching physics at a high school in suburban St. Louis.
“I haven’t worked this hard in a long time,” Mr. DeLoach said. One difficulty of the program, which must be finished in a year, is the required 30 days of classroom teaching — at a time when people are lining up for substitute teaching jobs.
Mr. Schwieder, in Virginia, landed a job before getting his license. He passed his subject test in math in November 2007, and in January, as he was beginning his class work, a math position opened at Henrico High School in suburban Richmond.
He grabbed the chance to teach, but still had to juggle the 20 to 30 hours a week needed to complete the Career Switchers course work.
The program, which requires a bachelor’s degree and five years’ work experience for entry, is intended for people working full time, Mr. Schwieder said, but he said a Monday-to-Friday teaching job meant “I wasn’t placing a lot of value on sleep at the time.”
He then moved into a full-time math teaching position and received his five-year license. His wife, 51, now teaches English in a middle school.
While they both love teaching, there are some downsides, especially the pay, which averages about $50,000 nationally. (Prospective teachers should know, too, that in a dozen states, teachers do not participate in Social Security but in public employee retirement plans. Under current law, if second-career teachers earn Social Security benefits from a previous job or receive spousal benefits, those benefits can be reduced because of the teachers’ pension benefits.)
Two-thirds of those in the Woodrow Wilson survey said they expected to take a pay cut to become a teacher.
“The pay is dismal compared to a corporate career,” Mr. Schwieder said, “but we didn’t do it for the money. The challenge is huge. I’m trying to teach students to problem-solve. That’s something that can carry them through the rest of their lives.”
Published: October 14, 2009
ANXIETY about what comes next in midlife is gripping a lot of people these days, especially if their jobs are ending or they are nearing retirement age.
Wylie Schwieder mulled over his prospects as his consulting job was winding down. And when his wife of 20 years, Katie, a former corporate trainer and business writing coach, came home on Sept. 3, 2007, their wedding anniversary, he was waiting on the front porch of their Richmond, Va., house with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
“I’ve decided to become a teacher,” he told his wife.
“Really,” she replied. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
Mr. Schwieder, 52, a former executive at CarMax and Capital One bank, became interested after a local science teacher told him about a fast-track way to become a teacher.
The idea of studying intensely, then getting into the classroom quickly, appealed to the couple, who have four children. Within three weeks they had signed up with the Career Switchers program, the Virginia-based program that requires applicants to pass an Educational Testing Service exam in the subject matter they want to teach, take an online course and attend a series of meetings to learn classroom teaching skills.
The program, which has helped more than 500 people earn licenses, costs $3,150 and takes about 18 months to complete.
Armed with a provisional one-year license, the new teacher spends a year of monitored classroom instruction before earning a renewable five-year state teaching license. The Schwieders are both teaching full time now. Virginia certifies the program, which was started in 2004 to address the shortage of math, science, reading and English teachers. The placement rate, said Rebecca Waters, the director, was 80 percent last year. This year, in the state budget crunch, placement has fallen to 42 percent.
Even so, teachers in math and science still find jobs. And over the long term, teaching may be a job haven because of its relative security and good benefits. A report by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, a nonprofit research group, has estimated that about one million teachers could retire in the next four years. Career changers, according to a survey released in September 2008 by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, may help fill the anticipated vacancies. Among college-educated Americans 24 to 60 years old, the survey found, 42 percent would consider becoming a teacher.
But these alternative certification programs have their critics. A National Council on Teacher Quality report in 2007, for example, found that two-thirds of the programs were not selective in their admissions, accepting half or more of those who apply, and that instead of streamlining certification, they simply mimicked traditional teacher prep courses.
Virginia has one of the most streamlined programs for career changers and is among the 47 states that accept alternative teacher training. Over all, about 600 such programs contribute about 20 percent of the country’s new teachers each year, according to the Education Department.
One of the best-known programs nationally is the New Teacher Project, which this year had 40,000 applicants for its teaching fellow programs in 21 cities, which include New York and Chicago. That was up 44 percent from 2008. But only 10 percent of the applicants were accepted this year, compared with 15 percent last year, according to the project, which is based in Brooklyn.
Like the Career Switchers program in Virginia, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence offers an online program that costs $975 and has so far issued 1,900 certifications. They are accepted by nine states, including Florida, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The board says people 50 and older account for one-fifth of its participants.
Among them is Ron Halverson, 52, who worked for two decades at Hewlett-Packard in engineering and finance. After taking early retirement two years ago, he became certified and is in his second year of teaching special education at Borah High School in Boise, Idaho.
Pursuing a traditional teaching degree would have been too long and costly, he said.
“I would not have been able to afford or pursue a second career without this program,” he said of the American Board. But it is “sometimes looked at negatively by those who have gone the traditional academic route.”
In Missouri, Bill DeLoach, 59, had a career in business sales and management. He left an executive position in a regional mutual fund company and completed the American Board program in science. He is now teaching physics at a high school in suburban St. Louis.
“I haven’t worked this hard in a long time,” Mr. DeLoach said. One difficulty of the program, which must be finished in a year, is the required 30 days of classroom teaching — at a time when people are lining up for substitute teaching jobs.
Mr. Schwieder, in Virginia, landed a job before getting his license. He passed his subject test in math in November 2007, and in January, as he was beginning his class work, a math position opened at Henrico High School in suburban Richmond.
He grabbed the chance to teach, but still had to juggle the 20 to 30 hours a week needed to complete the Career Switchers course work.
The program, which requires a bachelor’s degree and five years’ work experience for entry, is intended for people working full time, Mr. Schwieder said, but he said a Monday-to-Friday teaching job meant “I wasn’t placing a lot of value on sleep at the time.”
He then moved into a full-time math teaching position and received his five-year license. His wife, 51, now teaches English in a middle school.
While they both love teaching, there are some downsides, especially the pay, which averages about $50,000 nationally. (Prospective teachers should know, too, that in a dozen states, teachers do not participate in Social Security but in public employee retirement plans. Under current law, if second-career teachers earn Social Security benefits from a previous job or receive spousal benefits, those benefits can be reduced because of the teachers’ pension benefits.)
Two-thirds of those in the Woodrow Wilson survey said they expected to take a pay cut to become a teacher.
“The pay is dismal compared to a corporate career,” Mr. Schwieder said, “but we didn’t do it for the money. The challenge is huge. I’m trying to teach students to problem-solve. That’s something that can carry them through the rest of their lives.”
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Cut off school-to-prison pipeline
Link between discipline, incarceration is intolerable
By VERONICA GARCIA | Houston Chronicle
April 19, 2008 Editorial
While Texans agonize over high school graduation rates and dropout rates and falling standardized test scores, another crisis looms, one that may underline some of these other systemic educational problems.
The Texas Education Agency reports that statewide at every single grade level African-American students are overrepresented in the number of students who public schools suspend to disciplinary alternative education programs (DAEP). Latinos are overrepresented in 6th through 11th grades.
For example, while first grade, African-American students made up 14 percent of the general student population, they made up 47 percent of those sent to DAEPs in the 2005-2006 school year. Despite the fact that there are no data to support the assumption that these groups of students misbehave more than others, research by the American Psychological Association states that African-American students may be more severely punished for less serious or subjective reasons.
Also, while students receiving special education account for about 12 percent of the general student body population, they make up 22 percent of the DAEP population, raising concerns of potential violations of federal disability laws.
In the Katy Independent School District, 9 percent of the students are receiving special education, 31 percent are part of the DAEP population. African-Americans make up 9 percent of the student population yet they are 24 percent of the alternative programs.
Last month, when a United Nations committee urged the United States to make sweeping reforms to policies and laws affecting racial and ethnic minorities, one of the specific problems to which they referred was the school-to-prison pipeline, the intersection between our education and criminal justice systems. It's the criminalization of student behavior through zero tolerance policies that embrace punishment over education.
These practices disproportionately target minority students, as well as students with disabilities, for nonviolent, noncriminal behavior.
To be sure, schools have a duty to maintain discipline and order to ensure a safe environment and promote learning. The contradiction is that the discipline practices through which some schools attempt to achieve these goals ultimately funnel students out of our schools and place them at risk of future involvement with the criminal justice system.
A 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Justice cites a consistent decrease in juvenile crime since 1994; yet, between 1995 and 2006 Texas increased the number of juveniles in custody. Also, in 2005, Texas had the third highest adult incarceration rate in the country.
Such high rates of incarceration have a greater impact on people of color and are not sound policy decisions considering the high rates of recidivism and the economics of maintaining these facilities.
In tracing the roots of these problems, many advocates and researchers are finding that these trends begin from within our school systems. About 13 years after the inception of DAEPs, in answer to legislation passed last year, TEA is now drafting minimum standards for DAEPs.
Currently the standards are so minimal that schools are not even required to run these programs a full school day.
Improvements in school discipline must happen at the individual campus level.
We must address and change the reasons Texas students are removed from the classroom.
The ACLU of Texas calls on our state leaders to act on the U.N. recommendations to address the systemic discrimination and injustice that exists in our own back yard.
Garcia is a litigation fellow with the ACLU of Texas Foundation and has spent the past year studying the school-to-prison pipeline in Texas.
By VERONICA GARCIA | Houston Chronicle
April 19, 2008 Editorial
While Texans agonize over high school graduation rates and dropout rates and falling standardized test scores, another crisis looms, one that may underline some of these other systemic educational problems.
The Texas Education Agency reports that statewide at every single grade level African-American students are overrepresented in the number of students who public schools suspend to disciplinary alternative education programs (DAEP). Latinos are overrepresented in 6th through 11th grades.
For example, while first grade, African-American students made up 14 percent of the general student population, they made up 47 percent of those sent to DAEPs in the 2005-2006 school year. Despite the fact that there are no data to support the assumption that these groups of students misbehave more than others, research by the American Psychological Association states that African-American students may be more severely punished for less serious or subjective reasons.
Also, while students receiving special education account for about 12 percent of the general student body population, they make up 22 percent of the DAEP population, raising concerns of potential violations of federal disability laws.
In the Katy Independent School District, 9 percent of the students are receiving special education, 31 percent are part of the DAEP population. African-Americans make up 9 percent of the student population yet they are 24 percent of the alternative programs.
Last month, when a United Nations committee urged the United States to make sweeping reforms to policies and laws affecting racial and ethnic minorities, one of the specific problems to which they referred was the school-to-prison pipeline, the intersection between our education and criminal justice systems. It's the criminalization of student behavior through zero tolerance policies that embrace punishment over education.
These practices disproportionately target minority students, as well as students with disabilities, for nonviolent, noncriminal behavior.
To be sure, schools have a duty to maintain discipline and order to ensure a safe environment and promote learning. The contradiction is that the discipline practices through which some schools attempt to achieve these goals ultimately funnel students out of our schools and place them at risk of future involvement with the criminal justice system.
A 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Justice cites a consistent decrease in juvenile crime since 1994; yet, between 1995 and 2006 Texas increased the number of juveniles in custody. Also, in 2005, Texas had the third highest adult incarceration rate in the country.
Such high rates of incarceration have a greater impact on people of color and are not sound policy decisions considering the high rates of recidivism and the economics of maintaining these facilities.
In tracing the roots of these problems, many advocates and researchers are finding that these trends begin from within our school systems. About 13 years after the inception of DAEPs, in answer to legislation passed last year, TEA is now drafting minimum standards for DAEPs.
Currently the standards are so minimal that schools are not even required to run these programs a full school day.
Improvements in school discipline must happen at the individual campus level.
We must address and change the reasons Texas students are removed from the classroom.
The ACLU of Texas calls on our state leaders to act on the U.N. recommendations to address the systemic discrimination and injustice that exists in our own back yard.
Garcia is a litigation fellow with the ACLU of Texas Foundation and has spent the past year studying the school-to-prison pipeline in Texas.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Report critiques how Texas districts send students to alternative schools
Referrals depend on where kids live, not their behavior, group says.
By Joshunda Sanders | AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, October 19, 2007
Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit public interest group, said Thursday that 167 school districts in Texas refer students to disciplinary alternative education programs at a rate that is more than twice the state's average, even when they have the option not to. Texas has 1,037 school districts.
"More than 100,000 students are referred to (alternative education programs) each year," said Ron Lewis, a Houston lawyer and the incoming Appleseed chairman. "Two-thirds of those students are referred at the discretion of school districts."
The report documents disparities among districts in how students are treated and recommends more standardized rules and increased state oversight.
"Where you go to school, and not your behavior, dictates whether you'll be referred" to an alternative education program, Lewis said.
Researchers for the group said that a history of disciplinary referrals is the single most important factor in determining whether a student will drop out of school. The alternative programs are often the last step for troubled youths before they enter the criminal justice system.
The report found that alternative education students are five times as likely to drop out as their peers in mainstream schools.
Appleseed Executive Director Rebecca Lightsey said that numerous studies have established a link between school dropouts and incarceration. Eighty percent of all Texas prison inmates are school dropouts, and one in three Texas Youth Commission inmates is a dropout, according to the Appleseed report.
When a student is suspended or removed from a classroom for violating school conduct policies, officials can refer that student to an alternative classroom. But in many cases, such placements are not required, and districts have the choice of imposing other sanctions, such as in-school or at-home suspensions.
The Austin school district was cited in the report for referring a disproportionate number of African American, Hispanic and special education students to alternative education programs.
But it was praised for beginning a program that emphasizes early, intensive intervention for some students that is meant to reduce disciplinary referrals.
The report said the Austin, Bastrop, Leander, Lockhart, Round Rock and Taylor school districts referred a disproportionately high percentage of special education students to alternative schools.
For instance, in Austin, special education students make up 12 percent of the total enrollment in the district. But special education students made up 38 percent of all alternative education referrals between 2001 and 2006.
The state average for all referrals is 2 percent of students, the report said.
Some school districts were criticized for sending prekindergarten and kindergarten students to alternative programs. State law says children younger than 6 can be referred to such programs only for taking a firearm to school.
The report listed districts that sent more than 10 prekindergarten and kindergarten students to alternative education and those that sent more than 40 first-graders.
The Leander school district was the only Austin-area district listed. Between 2001 and 2006, Leander referred 19 prekindergarten and kindergarten students and 40 first-graders, according to the report.
A copy of the report is at www.texasappleseed.net/news.shtml.
By Joshunda Sanders | AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, October 19, 2007
Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit public interest group, said Thursday that 167 school districts in Texas refer students to disciplinary alternative education programs at a rate that is more than twice the state's average, even when they have the option not to. Texas has 1,037 school districts.
"More than 100,000 students are referred to (alternative education programs) each year," said Ron Lewis, a Houston lawyer and the incoming Appleseed chairman. "Two-thirds of those students are referred at the discretion of school districts."
The report documents disparities among districts in how students are treated and recommends more standardized rules and increased state oversight.
"Where you go to school, and not your behavior, dictates whether you'll be referred" to an alternative education program, Lewis said.
Researchers for the group said that a history of disciplinary referrals is the single most important factor in determining whether a student will drop out of school. The alternative programs are often the last step for troubled youths before they enter the criminal justice system.
The report found that alternative education students are five times as likely to drop out as their peers in mainstream schools.
Appleseed Executive Director Rebecca Lightsey said that numerous studies have established a link between school dropouts and incarceration. Eighty percent of all Texas prison inmates are school dropouts, and one in three Texas Youth Commission inmates is a dropout, according to the Appleseed report.
When a student is suspended or removed from a classroom for violating school conduct policies, officials can refer that student to an alternative classroom. But in many cases, such placements are not required, and districts have the choice of imposing other sanctions, such as in-school or at-home suspensions.
The Austin school district was cited in the report for referring a disproportionate number of African American, Hispanic and special education students to alternative education programs.
But it was praised for beginning a program that emphasizes early, intensive intervention for some students that is meant to reduce disciplinary referrals.
The report said the Austin, Bastrop, Leander, Lockhart, Round Rock and Taylor school districts referred a disproportionately high percentage of special education students to alternative schools.
For instance, in Austin, special education students make up 12 percent of the total enrollment in the district. But special education students made up 38 percent of all alternative education referrals between 2001 and 2006.
The state average for all referrals is 2 percent of students, the report said.
Some school districts were criticized for sending prekindergarten and kindergarten students to alternative programs. State law says children younger than 6 can be referred to such programs only for taking a firearm to school.
The report listed districts that sent more than 10 prekindergarten and kindergarten students to alternative education and those that sent more than 40 first-graders.
The Leander school district was the only Austin-area district listed. Between 2001 and 2006, Leander referred 19 prekindergarten and kindergarten students and 40 first-graders, according to the report.
A copy of the report is at www.texasappleseed.net/news.shtml.
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