Alternative Chicago public high schools may be more effective than their suburban counterparts at providing students expelled for drugs with alternative education and counseling, an analysis by The Chicago Reporter shows. Chicago schools recommended expulsion for 78 students for drug offenses in the 1997-98 school year, the most recent records available. But 28 were offered no alternative education or treatment options.
Alternative schools are terribly expensive.
We don't have the money. And with only 2,500 students in the district, there is little demand for alternative education, he said. Three students were expelled for drugs in the past year. In Chicago, repeat drug offenders and first-time sellers are recommended for expulsion but may instead enroll in the Safe Schools program. The 11 alternative schools aim to return students to their regular education setting, said Renee Grant-Mitchell, deputy chief of the board's specialized services office.