​Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth Program Guidelines

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is committed to ensuring that Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth (AEDY) Programs across the Commonwealth provide high quality educational programs and behavioral interventions for students. The PDE AEDY Team provides oversight and technical assistance to local education agencies (LEAs) and AEDY Programs to ensure that students are placed in AEDY Programs only as a last resort after all other available supports and interventions have been exhausted. Placements in AEDY Programs are temporary. While in an AEDY Program, students continue to make academic progress towards graduation and work to remedy disruptive behavior through counseling and other behavioral interventions.

The purpose of these guidelines is to provide information to LEAs and AEDY Programs so that they may perform their respective duties in accordance with applicable federal and state law and regulation, including the Public School Code of 1949, and PDE policies and procedures. While there is variation in design and types of programs, all must adhere to the requirements of the Public School Code of 1949 (24 P.S. §§ 19-1901-C et seq. & 24 P.S. §§ 19-1901-E et seq.) and these guidelines where applicable. Ultimately, the AEDY Guidelines are provided to assist schools and private providers in creating and maintaining AEDY Programs that best serve students' academic and behavioral needs.

There are five sections included in the guidelines:

Section One: Definitions of Terms
Section Two: Contracts and Approvals
Section Three: LEA Responsibilities, Information Hearings, English Language Learner Services, Special Education Services, Formerly Adjudicated or Convicted of a Crime, Returning from Another Placement, Returning to AEDY Placement
Section Four: AEDY Program Requirements, Performance Measures and Accountability, Disclaimer
Section Five: Appendix A - Public School Code