WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia has determined that as many as 5000 students are considered to be behaviorally disruptive and require special opportunities to learn and succeed; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia's current school discipline system includes three remedial discipline schools serving six hundred students and six Alternative Behavioral Learning Environment (ABLE) Academies serving two hundred students; and
WHEREAS, The School District has sought to review existing programs and considered expanding the district's efforts to provide alternative education: and
WHEREAS, On January 24, 2000, pursuant to authority granted by Act 48 of 1999, the Board of Education ratified a resolution authorizing the School District of Philadelphia to contract with Community Education Partners, Inc. CEP a for-profit Nashville-based firm that operates schools in Houston and Dallas to educate some of the district's most disruptive and at-risk students; and
WHEREAS, It is critically important that alternative education be provided in a manner that fosters safety, stability and academic progress for this specific population of students; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, By City Council that the Education Committee be authorized to hold hearings regarding the current status and future plans for the placement and education of behaviorally disruptive students in the School District of Philadelphia.
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