Graduation rates, employment sustainability, and lack of ability to live independently are often outcomes for students with emotional disorders. For these students the connection to incarceration, unemployment, and homelessness to mental illness is high and with the current societal challenges, the numbers of students with emotional disorders are anticipated to increase. The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of programs to assist students identified with emotional disorders in 9-12 high schools and identify challenges facing those programs as they assist the students towards graduation to prepare them to be college and career-ready post-high school. The results of this study were organized to answer six research questions that examined these programs with resultant themes. The themes were: strategies provided for ED students, desired changes to further support students with ED, supplementary programs to assist students, professional training for staff, data to evaluate progress, and community involvement. The data gained in this study contributed information to the field of study in the area of designing programs that assist high school students diagnosed with ED towards success. The results indicated that schools are moving towards providing environments, training, and support to students with social/emotional/behavioral struggles; however, the trend of this educational shift needs to continue to evolve. Similarly found were several barriers to the success of the programs. The implications for both administrators and teachers are important. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]