alternative education

noun

: an educational program or system that is separate from a mainstream educational program or system and that is designed especially for students with academic or behavioral difficulties

Gov. Tom Ridge today signed House Bill 8, which enacts two important education reforms: alternative education for disruptive students and professional development for teachers.

—PR Newswire, 13 Sept. 1999

The alternative education program serves the school's most at-risk students.

—Howard Weiss-Tisman, Brattleboro Reformer, 3 Aug. 2006

Word History

First Known Use

1978, in the meaning defined above

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