The Center for Educational Opportunities
Center for Educational Opportunities/Regional Safe School Program
CEO: The mission of the Center for Educational Opportunities (CEO) programs is to provide a nurturing environment which maintains high academic and behavior expectations and encourages each individual to do his/her best. Within this structured environment, education and behavior management are vehicles by which we provide the students with a wide variety of experiences designed to increase academic skills and promote the development of appropriate social behaviors. Both are necessary for successful participation in society.
Safe School: The Regional Safe School Program (RSSP) is designed to serve general education students in grades 6-12. These students have been expelled or administratively transferred from their district school due to gross misconduct. The RSSP began serving Illinois students in FY97 and is based upon PA 89-383 which provided for a system of alternative education programs for disruptive students.
Below is the citation from the Illinois School Code specifying the criteria for an appropriate referral to a Safe School Program.
Illinois School Code 5/13A - 2.5 Definition of "Disruptive Student":
"Disruptive Student" includes suspension or expulsion eligible students in any of grades 6 through 12. Suspension or expulsion eligible students are those students that have been found to be eligible for suspension or expulsion through the discipline process established by a school district.
Students who meet two or more of the following criteria may be eligible for services:
Enrolled in grades 6 through 12 during this current school year, AND
Suspended at least twice for "gross misconduct."
Arrested by the police or remanded to juvenile or criminal courts for acts related to school activities.
Eligible for disciplinary reassignment pursuant to violation of school district "zero tolerance" policies.
Involved in "gross misconduct" that can be characterized as serious, repetitive, or cumulative.
Returning from juvenile detention facility.
Expelled or has a pending expulsion hearing.
Click HERE to download the CEO/RSSP brochure. (4 MB)
Click HERE to download the interactive CEO/RSSP Student Referral Form combined with the Student Transfer form.
Note: To make the the form interactive: download the form by right clicking HERE and then choose "Save Link As" to save the document to a location you normally save your downloads to. And then, open the document in Acrobat Reader to add your information. Save the document and return it by attaching it to an email.
