Alternative education program
An alternative education program is one that removes disruptive students from regular school programs to provide such students with schooling and counseling, which is designed to modify the disruptive behavior so that the students can return to the regular school curriculum. Disruptive student is defined in 24 § PS 19-1901-C (5). A school district, an area vocational-technical school, an intermediate unit or a group of school districts may implement an alternative education program. The Pennsylvania Department of Education administers alternative education grants, including application procedures, annual evaluations and annual funding. "[A]lternative education programs may operate outside the normal school day of the applicant district, including Saturdays." School districts must adopt a policy for periodic review of students placed in such programs that must provide for a review at the end of each semester a student is in the program. Such programs may include services for students who are on probation as a result of being adjudicated delinquent or "who have been judged to have committed a crime under an adult criminal proceeding. "
School Code 24 §§ PS 19-1901-C et. seq.