Alternative Education Campus Accountability

Overview

Alternate Education Campuses (AECs) are schools with specialized missions designed to serve high-risk student populations. The Education Accountability Act of 2009 (SB 09-163) authorizes the Department to conduct a distinct performance review for those schools that meet the definition of an AEC. The state's performance framework for AECs takes into account the unique purposes of the campuses and the unique circumstances of the challenges posed by the students enrolled in the campuses.

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Which students are considered high risk students?

AECs have specialized missions, nontraditional methods of instruction delivery, serve students with severe limitations, and have student populations that are comprised of at least 90% high risk students.

High risk students are those who meet one or more of 15 conditions:

Juvenile delinquent
Dropped out of school
Expelled from school
History of personal drug or alcohol use
History of personal street gang involvement

History of child abuse or neglect/foster care
Has a parent or guardian in prison
Has an IEP
Family history of domestic violence
Repeated school suspensions

Pregnant or parenting
Migrant child
Homeless child
History of serious psychiatric or behavioral disorder
Over-age/ under-credited

Which schools are desginated as AECs?

Below is the list of current AECs as approved by the State Board of Education.

Schools designated as Alternative Education Campuses 2023-24

ADA Archive Icon For past AEC designations, please visit the AEC Archive.

How is performance assessed for AECs?

In addition to Academic Achievement, Academic Growth, and Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness, AECs have an additional required measure of Student Engagement, and weightings of measures are slightly different from traditional schools to account for the high-risk population of students served.

AEC vs Traditional Performance Assessment Pie Chart

What overall ratings are assigned for AECs?

AECs are assigned one of four ratings based on the percentage of points earned across the four performance indicators shown in the pie chart above. Insufficient state data is assigned if there is not enough outcome data to assign a rating.

AEC Plan Types

AEC Performance Plan - AECs with a Performance Plan are meeting expectations on the majority of performance metrics.

AEC Improvement Plan - These AECs are identified as lower performing. They may be meeting expectations on some performance metrics, but they are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on many.

AEC Priority Improvement Plan - These AECs are identified as low performing. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.

AEC Turnaround Plan - These AECs are identified as among the lowest performing schools in the state. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.

AEC Insufficient State Data - Historically, the Insufficient State Data plan type has not been assigned to AECs. In 2022, given the lack of required data available, a portion of AECs did not have enough data to meaningfully determine their performance. Insufficient State Data plan types were assigned to AECs using the same criteria used to assign this plan type to non-AEC schools.