The governing board of each high school district and each unified school district shall establish and maintain within its boundaries special continuation education classes and may establish and maintain regional occupational centers or programs, in accordance with the provisions of Section 52301, whenever there are any minors residing within the district who are subject to compulsory continuation education; provided, that if there are fewer than 100 students enrolled in grade 12 in any school of the district maintaining that grade, the governing board of the district may apply to the State Department of Education for exemption of that school from the requirements of this section and such exemption may be granted in accordance with rules and regulations that shall be adopted by the State Board of Education to govern the granting of the exemptions. An exemption may also be granted to schools having an enrollment of more than 100 pupils in grade 12 if the district seeking the exemption has entered into an agreement with another high school district or unified school district to maintain special continuation education classes for minors residing in either of the districts, but shall not be granted if the agreement would make it necessary for such minors to travel an excessive distance from their homes to the continuation education classes.

The governing board of any school district may establish and maintain one or more alternative schools within the district. For the purposes of this article, an alternative school is defined as a school or separate class group within a school which is operated in a manner designed to: (a) Maximize the opportunity for students to develop the positive values of self–reliance, initiative, kindness, spontaneity, resourcefulness, courage, creativity, responsibility, and joy. (b) Recognize that the best learning takes place when the student learns because of his desire to learn. (c) Maintain a learning situation maximizing student self–motivation and encouraging the student in his own time to follow his own interests. These interests may be conceived by him totally and independently or may result in whole or in part from a presentation by his teachers of choices of learning projects. (d) Maximize the opportunity for teachers, parents and students to cooperatively develop the learning process and its subject matter. This opportunity shall be a continuous, permanent process. (e) Maximize the opportunity for the students, teachers, and parents to continuously react to the changing world, including but not limited to the community in which the school is located.

This document addresses a plan for providing education to students who have been expelled.