Download this file - Plan4Preschool

a high school diploma. Independent study serves a wide variety of students, ranging
from child actors and aspiring Olympic athletes to students at risk of dropping out. The
flexibility of independent study makes it possible for some students to stay in school—
students with health problems and students who are parents or who need to work.
Other students choose independent study because it allows them to accelerate or move
more slowly in some subjects, to make up ground they have missed in the classroom, or
to delve more deeply into areas of special interest. In 2005-06, nearly 21,700
independent study students graduated from high school or passed a high school
equivalency exam.
The California Department of Education (CDE) encourages students and parents to
consider independent study through the local public school system if they are looking for
an alternative to classroom instruction. In October 2005, 1,401 schools reported
students engaged in independent study. For more information regarding independent
study program matters, contact the Educational Options Office, at (916) 322-5012.
Questions about attendance accounting should be directed to the School Fiscal
Services Division, at (916) 322-3024.
The CDE has published the Independent Study Operations Manual to provide
information about legal requirements and program guidelines. Contact the CDE Press
Sales Office at (800) 995-4099 to purchase a copy.
Juvenile Court Schools
Juvenile court schools provide an educational placement for students who are under the
protection or authority of the juvenile court system and are incarcerated in juvenile halls,
juvenile homes, day centers, juvenile ranches, juvenile camps, or regional youth
educational facilities. Students are placed in juvenile court schools when they are
referred and incarcerated by the juvenile court, including students who have been
expelled from their school. County boards of education operate the juvenile court
schools. A minimum day program for juvenile court schools is 240 minutes.
Opportunity Education Program
Opportunity Education schools, classes, and programs provide support for students who
are habitually truant, irregular in attendance, insubordinate, disorderly while in
attendance, or failing academically. Opportunity Education provides a supportive
environment with specialized curriculum, instruction, guidance, and counseling;
psychological services; and tutorial assistance to help students overcome barriers to
learning. It is not a permanent placement but is a short-term intervention to ensure that
students will succeed when they return to their regular classrooms. The use of the funds
for this program is now at the discretion of the administration in each school district that
receives funds from the Pupil Retention Block Grant.
For more information regarding opportunity education programs, contact Dan Sackheim,
Consultant, Educational Options Office, at (916) 445-5595 or by e-mail at
112