Administrative Procedure 255: Supervised Alternative Learning (SAL)

Education Act: Section 21 Compulsory Attendance; O. Reg. 374/10 Supervised Alternative Learning and Other Excusals from Attendance at School; OSR Guideline - Ontario Student Record Guideline Section 3.1.7; Supervised Alternative Learning - Policy and Implementation; Enrolment Register Instructions - Elementary and Secondary Schools

Board Policy 10 Committees of the Board; Administrative Procedure (AP) 204 Program Planning; Form 255 Supervised Alternative Learning Application and Plan and Form 255 Supervised Alternative Learning Application for Renewal

This administrative procedure sets out the Director of Education’s expectations for the Supervised Alternative Learning Program. Supervised Alternative Learning is a program that is intended to re-engage young people fourteen to seventeen years old who are not attending school and who are therefore at risk of not graduating.

2.1 When parent(s)/guardian(s) or the school principal indicates an interest in applying for the Supervised Alternative Learning Program, the Attendance Counsellor is to be contacted. The Attendance Counsellor will coordinate all procedures and supply the necessary forms.

2.2 The principal and Attendance Counsellor shall endeavour to meet with the parent(s)/guardian(s) and the student to complete Form 255 Supervised Alternative
Learning Application and Plan.

2.3 The Attendance Counsellor shall submit applications for the meeting of the Supervised Alternative Learning Committee. The SAL Committee is composed of the
following individuals, at a minimum:

 Alternatives for each position may be identified.

2.4 The committee, after reviewing the application, shall:

2.5 The Secretary to the SAL Committee confirms the Committee decision by letter.

2.6 The Attendance Counsellor shall monitor the student’s progress and make contact with the student at least once per month while the student remains on their
Supervised Alternative Learning Plan (SALP). All contacts with the student by the Attendance Counsellor, SAL Marker and school staff are to be documented in the
Student Information System (Maplewood/Aspen) with a “C”.

2.7 Applications may only be approved until the end of the current school year, or the student’s 18th birthday, whichever comes first. A student whom turns 18 prior to
June 30th, may request in writing that their SALP be extended until the end of the school year.

2.8 At the request of the parent(s)/guardian(s) or principal, an approved SALP can be renewed by the SAL Committee for one additional school year. At the end of the second school year, a full application must be made to the SAL Committee.

2.9 The Attendance Counsellor is named the board designated Primary Contact and is responsible for maintaining regular contact with the pupil, the parent and the school staff. Progress reports will be made to the committee when requested.

3.1 Parents/guardians may make written application to the principal and the Attendance Counsellor if they disagree with the determination of the committee or wish to alter and/or review the pupil’s program.

3.2 The Attendance Counsellor will call a meeting of the committee to consider the request.

3.3 The Attendance Counsellor will notify all concerned of any significant program alterations.

4.1 Every student who is in SAL must have a Supervised Alternative Learning Plan (SALP).

4.2 The SALP must be focused on meeting the student’s educational needs as well as incorporating a broad range of services and activities that he or she may require. Each student’s SALP will be highly individualized and describes the student’s learning activities for a maximum of one school year. For the required components of the SALP see the Supervised Alternative Learning Application and Plan, form 255.

4.3 The SALP should be prepared by the Student Success team, including the principal, primary contact, and other appropriate school and board personnel, in consultation with the student and parent.

4.4 The Supervised Alternative Learning Plan (SALP) is intended to be a working document that is reviewed and revised as appropriate. If the SALP remains
substantially the same, the primary contact may make minor changes to it over the course of the program and must seek input from the student and the student’s
parent. Changes should be made on the basis of the student’s achievement and the feedback received from staff members, such as teachers, the social worker and the attendance counsellor, as appropriate. 

4.5 The SALP is filed in the OSR annually. The student and parent each receive a copy.

5.1 The Attendance Counsellor and SAL marker will provide a progress report to the student’s home school at the end of each semester outlining progress on the SALP, on course materials, co-operative education and other learning opportunities as appropriate.

5.2 The home school principal will sign the report, place a copy in the student’s OSR and provide the original to the student’s parents or guardian, or to the student where the student is living independently of their parents or guardian.

 

Revised November 2021