This file contains data from an initial 2008 fast-response survey titled "District Survey of Alternative Schools and Programs: 2007-08" and a short follow-up survey. Together, these surveys provide national estimates on the availability of alternative schools and programs for students at risk of educational failure in public school districts during the 2007–08 school year. The initial survey asked about alternative schools and programs administered by the district. The follow-up survey expanded the coverage by asking about students enrolled in the district who attended alternative schools and programs administered by an entity other than the district. NCES released the results of the initial and follow-up surveys in the First Look report Alternative Schools and Programs for Public School Students At Risk of Educational Failure: 2007–08.
Questionnaires and cover letters for the initial study were mailed to the superintendent of each sampled school district in August 2008. The weighted response rate was 96 percent. Questionnaires and cover letters for the follow-up study were mailed in April 2009 to all respondents who completed the initial 2007–08 survey. Completed questionnaires were received from 99 percent of districts that responded to the initial 2007–08 survey.
The initial survey asked respondents to report on the availability and number of district-administered alternative schools and programs. The initial survey also asked about enrollment in district-administered alternative schools and programs, entry and exit procedures, and curriculum and services offered. The follow-up survey asked whether any students enrolled in the district attended an alternative school or program administered by an entity other than the district. The follow-up survey also requested the number of students enrolled in the district who attended alternative schools and programs administered by an entity other than the district and the type of entity that administered the alternative school or program. For both the initial and follow-up surveys, alternative schools and programs were defined as those that are designed to address the needs of students that typically cannot be met in regular schools. The students who attend alternative schools and programs are typically at risk of educational failure (as indicated by poor grades, truancy, disruptive behavior, pregnancy, or similar factors associated with temporary or permanent withdrawal from school).
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