A Descriptive Analysis of Educational Alternatives to Expulsion in Florida

Abstract

The purposes of this study were (1) to identify and describe the extent to which the 67 public school districts in Florida were providing educational alternatives for the specific group of students who had been recommended for expulsion from school during a five year period from Fall 1991 through Spring 1996, (2) to determine the reasons for expulsion, (3) to identify similarities and differences in operational and instructional components of programs currently implemented, and (4) to provide detailed program descriptions of instructional and operational components of selected programs serving this specific at risk student population. The research design was a descriptive, non-experimental study with the population consisting of the Dropout Prevention Contacts in the 67 public school districts in Florida. Surveys, interviews, and site visitations of selected programs were methods used to collect data. Four survey instruments were developed by the researcher for use in this study. Three instruments, designed to gather background information about districts and information about the operational and instructional components of programs implemented at the time of the study, were mailed to participants. The fourth instrument was designed for interviews conducted during site visitations. Results of the study indicated the following: (1) the majority of school districts in Florida provided an educational alternative to expelled students in lieu of full exclusion with the alternative program being the most widely used option, (2) the majority of students expelled during the 1995-96 school year in Florida were in large school districts that provided an alternative program, (3) expellable offenses varied among school districts, with two of the three most common reasons for expulsion being illegal actions, and (4) alternative programs for expelled students currently implemented differed more in the operational components than in the instructional components. Recommendations were for the Florida Department of Education to amass more detailed expulsion data by district and to consider adopting a state-wide student discipline and conduct code for greater consistency. Additionally, it was recommended that districts planning to implement a program for expelled students should visit programs currently implemented before implementing a program. It was further recommended that smaller districts without alternative programs for expelled students explore the possibility of combining resources with neighboring districts in order to provide educational services to expelled students.

Notes

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Graduation Date

1997

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Lynn, Mary Ann

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Educational Services

Format

Print

Pages

171 p.

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0020799

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education; Education -- Dissertations, Academic

Accessibility Status

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