The authors take an historical look at the changes in public education leading to the establishment of alternative education programs to help practitioners understand this fast-growing population. Current legislation (IDEA, 2004; NCLB, 2001) mandates that educators hold all students to the same high academic standards. Administrators and teachers are cautious about counting lower scoring students' scores on accountability tests in class or school averages. The authors suggest that quality alternative education programs include essential components, such as functional assessment and curriculum, to ongoing staff development and program assessment. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)