At the end of 8th grade she started an alternative school, with less kids and more help. Prior to that the school sent a teacher to the house for home bound studies. So she goes to the alternative school half day and the high school the other half. Most districts have that. The one problem is Most of the kids are ones that have gotten into so much trouble that they are not allowed to go to the "normal" school and Megs doesn't fit into that category. There is a lot more help for the kids though. We chose this for her so we can take her out any time we want. Her own goal is to be in the High School full time by next sememster. The IEP meetings we had prior to all of this were a problem because they hadn't a clue as to what to do with her!!!! We got lucky with the high school Pychologist because she is fantastic at her job. I was getting ready to pull in an advocate and she came to the last meeting. The bottom line is the school has to to do what is best no matter what. It takes a lot of pushing! It's hard cause in general these are good kids who have a bad rap or aren't so called bad kids so they don't know what to do with them. They didn't have a goal on Meg's IEP ...not sure they do right now. I have to find that out. She's so darn smart to so we made sure she has her core classes at the high school.(she came home with a 5th grade book 2nd day of school)! The school also has to pay for her transportation to and from both schools and from home. I guess my advice would be demand some kind of goal and better outcome before you even leave. Even if it means a personal aid to help keep your child on task. Did they test him? There's a whole slue of testing they are suppose to do and sometimes unless you ask they don't do them. They love to try and intemidate us! Luckily this is not my first kid or my first IEP experience. My middle has Learning Disabilities and we got her through it all. She graduated this year. This other though is way different then LD problems. Let me know if you have any questions. This can be so overwhelming and I'm still learning but would be glad to help. Oh, The phone book usually has a list of schools in the area and if it's not through the district and is private but turns out to be the best for your child they have to pay for that also. Good luck and let me know what happens! Lori T.