DC offers students who may struggle to thrive in traditional academic settings alternative pathways to success. DC defines alternative schools and programs in several key pieces of legislation, which can create confusion. So, as DC updates its alternative accountability framework, we’d like to clarify exactly what this means. If you want to skip the legal background, scroll down to the section titled: ‘So, why does this matter?’
There are two ways that the Division of Data, Assessment, and Research uses “alternative” to label categories of schools or programs. We do this because DC has to recognize a local definition and a federal definition.
1. Alternative for accountability – is difficult to find in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), but the key term to search is “Annual Meaningful Differentiation” (Elementary and Secondary Education Act section 1111(c)(4)(C)). This is the term we use to find “alternative accountability” in ESSA state plans because it is in the section heading that allows states to give some schools special consideration in their accountability systems.
DC’s 2022 ESSA state plan amendment states the following to describe the Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE) alternative methodology for annual meaningful differentiation:
“For those schools for which an accountability determination based on the system of annual meaningful differentiation cannot appropriately be made based on the implementation of the statewide system (because of grade configuration, student population, or another factor), OSSE may develop an alternative methodology which will ensure meaningful differentiation and will allow the ability to identify such schools for Comprehensive Support or Targeted Support as applicable.”
It is also important to note that in earlier ESSA State Plan work, OSSE published more specific guidance noting that, “Approved definitions will be valid for a time period of three years (beginning with the accountability system published in December 2018.... OSSE reserves the right to reevaluate the alternative criteria and definition as necessary to ensure meaningful differentiation.” Schools designated as alternative for accountability purposes for the 2019-20 school year, remain designated as alternative for accountability due to waivers and extensions related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Table 1. Schools with Approved Alternative Accountability Designation (School Name and LEA Name)
- Ballou STAY High School (DCPS)
- Luke C. Moore High School (DCPS)
- Roosevelt STAY High School (DCPS)
- The Children's Guild DC PCS (The Children's Guild DC Public Charter School)
- Goodwill Excel Center PCS (Goodwill Excel Center PCS)
- Kingsman Academy PCS (Kingsman Academy PCS)
- Maya Angelous PCS - High School (Maya Angelou PCS)
- Maya Angelou PCS - Academy at DC Jail (Maya Angelou PCS)
- Monument Academy PCS (Monument Academy PCS)
2. Alternative for funding – local per pupil funding is defined in DC Code § 38–2901 and allows for schools to get an additional amount of funding for students in approved alternative schools/programs. Specifically, alternative programs are defined as:
“(1B) “Alternative program” means specialized instruction for students under court supervision or who have a history of being on short- or long-term suspension or who have been expelled from school, or who meet other criteria as defined by the State Education Office through rulemaking. To qualify as an alternative program, a school must meet the criteria and rules set by the State Education Office. An alternative program may describe an entire school or a specialized program within a school.”
The alternative per pupil amount and weight may change annually according to the approved DC budget (please see this page for 2024-25 weights and amounts). LEAs may apply for this designation using a process outlined here by OSSE. Currently, the schools and programs in Table 2 have been approved (through the 2025-26 school year).
Table 2. Schools/Programs with Approved Alternative Funding Designation (per pupil)
|
LEA Name |
School Name |
Setting |
New or Renewal |
|
DCPS |
Ballou STAY High School |
School |
Renew |
|
Kingsman Academy PCS |
Kingsman Academy PCS |
School |
Renew |
|
Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) PCS |
LAYC Career Academy PCS |
Program |
Renew |
|
DCPS |
Luke C. Moore High School |
School |
Renew |
|
Maya Angelou PCS (State Public Agency, or SPA) |
Maya Angelou PCS - Academy at DC Jail |
School |
New |
|
Maya Angelou PCS |
Maya Angelou PCS - High School |
School |
Renew |
|
Maya Angelou PCS |
Maya Angelou PCS - Young Adult Learning Center |
School |
Renew |
|
DCPS |
Roosevelt STAY High School |
School |
Renew |
|
The Next Step PCS |
The Next Step El Proximo Paso PCS |
School |
Renew |
|
YouthBuild PCS |
YouthBuild PCS |
School |
Renew |
It is important to note that juvenile justice facilities and settings have been managed by several entities and have changed names over time. The Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) opened the Youth Services Center (YSC), a short-term residential detention center, in 2004. While the DYRS education programs have not changed over time, the DC Jail education program has. Currently, under a settlement agreement, the Maya Angelou Public Charter School (and See Forever Foundation) manages schools at three correctional facilities -
- Maya Angelou Academy at New Beginnings
- Maya Angelou Academy at DC Jail
- Maya Angelou Academy at Youth Services Center
Prior to that, DCPS ran the Inspiring Youth Program (IYP) inside the jail (IYP serves students detained in the Central Detention Facility and the Correctional Treatment Facility) to meet the special education needs of incarcerated students.
Further, IYP, YSC, and Washington Metropolitan High School (Washington Met) have been designated for alternative funding in the past, but no longer receive those funds. Washington Met closed at the end of the 2019-20 school year.
So, why does this matter?
The main reason the same entities are not in each list is that the intent of these two definitions is different – the funding formula acknowledges that alternative schools work under different models that assume different costs for students in alternative programs – and operating costs for their providers. These include alternative (not full day) instructional schedules and seat time arrangements.
While alternative for accountability recognizes that alternative schools may not see meaningful differentiation on accountability metrics, so these metrics are not included in metric scores or public reporting.
So, clearly, there is some overlap between the entities included in alternative for funding and alternative for accountability groups. For example, the funding definition allows for programs inside of schools to receive alternative funding per pupil, while the ESSA definition requires whole-school designations. So LAYC can have a program qualified for alternative funding, but not be alternative for accountability.
Other designations that are easily mixed up with either alternative definition are adult schools, opportunity academies, adult serving community-based organizations, and juvenile justice and special education settings and locations. Many of these entities may receive several labels and these entities may or may not receive per pupil funding and or grants to operate their programs. We’ve illustrated these labels by entity in the table below. (Note: OSSE recently introduced the term state public agency (SPA), and school names change over time. These are other examples of how these entities may have different designations and labels each year.)
Table 3. Classifications by School/Program in the 2022-23 School Year.
- Click here to view a PDF of the table.
*Please note that Roosevelt STAY HS’s name was changed by DCPS for the 2024-25 school year to Garnett-Patterson STAY HS.
Learn More
OSSE has created several blog posts about accountability such as those on floors and targets and on calculating growth. The DC School Report Card Resource Library, specifically each year’s technical guide is also a great way to learn more about the details behind this work.