Alternative Education Services are formed in a cooperative partnership between the Regional Office of Education and local school districts to meet the educational needs of students. Alternative Education Services consist of Regional Safe School Programs (RSSP) and Alternative Learning Opportunities Programs (ALOP). For more information on safe schools, contact Eleanor Morris at (630) 444-3401 or by email at emorris@kaneroe.org.

REGIONAL SAFE SCHOOLS PROGRAM (RSSP)

The Regional Safe Schools Program serves expulsion-eligible and/or multiply suspended students. The statewide program, authorized through the Regional Offices of Education, began serving students in 1996 as established by the Illinois School Code to provide a system of alternative education programs for disruptive students.

The purpose of the RSSP is twofold:

1. to increase safety and promote the learning environment in schools and
2. to meet the particular educational needs of disruptive students more appropriately and individually in an alternative educational environment.

This is a cooperative effort between the Regional Office of Education and the local school districts. The programs within school districts are designed to meet local needs. In the 2021-22 school year, 250 students were served through this program. Without this program, those students would not have received an education and would have most likely become dropouts.

ALTERNATIVE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM (ALOP)

The Alternative Learning Opportunities Program serve students that need educational supports and other interventions that are not currently provided by their regular school programs. The Regional Office of Education partners with school districts to develop and implement ALOPs that offer a broader range of academic, behavioral, and social/emotional interventions designed to increase the academic achievement levels of these students so that they are able to meet the Illinois Learning Standards and complete their education in a safe learning environment.