Alternative Education
About the Project
How can we strengthen alternative schools to prepare high-need students for future success?
Alternative schools, which include Continuation Schools, Community Day Schools, County Community Schools, Opportunity Schools, and Court Schools, can offer more intensive services and accelerated credit-earning opportunities that grant high school students a renewed path to graduation. Alternative education sites serve a proportionally higher number of high-need students than traditional public schools, including justice-involved youth, youth who have experienced housing insecurity, and youth who have experienced the foster care system. Students of color, specifically Black and Latine students, attend alternative education sites at higher rates than traditional public schools.
CTS is engaging in a study that will expand upon the Report and Recommendations of the CA Advisory Task Force on Alternative Schools’ (2020) broad findings around addressing potential changes to existing teacher preparation and credentialing, with a strong focus on identifying gaps in teacher workforce patterns and needs across various types of alternative schools.
The study aims to:
- Summarize school information (e.g., school counts, enrollments, charter status) and student characteristics (e.g., demographics, academic performance, and special characteristics) across the different types of California alternative schools.
- Analyze existing workforce patterns and needs in alternative education settings through public datasets.
- Further explore the themes of the task force findings around strengthening a pipeline of diverse, qualified, and supported educators with local and statewide recommendations.
- Examine and highlight alternative education sites that may be implementing a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS).
Publications
Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Education Approaches: Rethinking California’s Alternative Education System
Alternative education programs serve students with diverse and often complex needs, yet remain under-resourced and widely misunderstood across California. This report examines the structure and purpose of alternative education settings, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for improvement. It provides recommendations to strengthen systems and better align supports to meet student needs.
Events
Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Education: Rethinking California’s Alternative Education System
October 6, 2026 – 12:00–1:15 PM
California’s alternative education system serves more than 150,000 students every year — and too often, they are the last ones policymakers think about.
Those students are disproportionately Black, Latine, and Indigenous; in foster care; experiencing homelessness; or navigating disability. A new report from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools — Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Education Approaches: Rethinking California’s Alternative Education System — takes the deepest look yet at nearly 900 Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) schools.
The report examines student demographics, school climate, and academic outcomes, and identifies the system-level barriers that push young people off track to graduate. Findings point to concrete policy recommendations, including a dedicated funding formula and a specialized educator workforce built for the students these schools serve.
Join the Association of California County Boards of Education, the Reaching At-Promise Students Association, and the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools for a conversation on what this research means for county boards, superintendents, and every leader working to build a system that meets students where they are — not where a one-size-fits-all model expects them to be.
Register Here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ytbeWU_6QzWZOtzJmDxTpw#/registration
