Unsafe School Choice Option

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act authorized as No Child Left Behind requires states to establish policies regarding Unsafe School Choice Options. Section 9532 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 states:

"Each state receiving funding under this Act shall establish and implement a statewide policy requiring that a student attending a persistently dangerous public elementary school or secondary school, as determined by the State in consultation with a representative sample of local educational agencies, or who becomes a victim of a violent criminal offense, as determined by State law, while in or on the grounds of a public elementary school or secondary school that the student attends, be allowed to attend a safe public elementary or secondary school within the local educational agency, including a public charter school."

Schools designated as persistently dangerous shall provide notification to all parents within 10 days of designation. Where feasible, parents will have the option to transfer their child to another school site within 30 days. Parents of students who are victims of a violent crime will also have the option to transfer their student to another school site.

Alaska is in the process of developing regulations that will provide guidance to the department in how persistently dangerous schools will be identified.