Report from UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools highlights disproportionate enrollment of vulnerable student populations, uneven educational outcomes
California has one of the largest and most varied alternative education systems in the United States. More than 150,000 students are enrolled in schools defined as Dashboard Alternative Status Schools (DASS) across 900 campuses in the state.
While these schools serve a critical role in providing flexible, supportive pathways to graduation, new research by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools finds these schools disproportionately enroll Black, Latine, Indigenous, foster youth, homeless, socioeconomically disadvantaged, disabled students, and other populations facing significant systemic barriers.
In these settings, the report finds disparities in educational outcomes compared to non-alternative schools, including a 60% chronic absenteeism rate, a 58% five-year graduation rate, and significantly lower proficiency in English Language Arts and mathematics. The analysis also identifies systemic challenges in staffing, leadership, and accountability systems that often fail to meet the needs of students.
The report, “Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Education Approaches: Rethinking California’s Alternative Education System.” provides an overview of California’s alternative education landscape and an analysis of educational patterns across specific school types, as well as analysis of student characteristics including student demographics, school climate, and academic outcomes across alternative school types, highlighting how system-level barriers often push students off track to graduate.
The report also offers recommendations for strengthening policy and practice to improve outcomes for young people in California’s alternative education system. The authors propose a comprehensive policy agenda including among other recommendations, the development of a dedicated Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) category for alternative schools and a specialized educator workforce to expand access to high-quality instruction in alternative school settings serving vulnerable youth.
The full report is available on the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools website here.