New Report Real Alternatives: Ending Disciplinary Alternative Education Coauthored by Dr. Lauren Sneed

We are proud to share that a new report titled Real Alternatives: Ending Disciplinary Alternative Education was released in September 2025. This report is a collaborative effort by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Loyola University College of Law Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic, and Dr. Lauren Sneed, San Francisco State University Graduate Counseling Department.

Real Alternatives exposes the separate and unequal structures within disciplinary alternative education often used as punitive responses to student behavior and documents how such systems disproportionately affect Black students and students with disabilities. The report focuses on alternative education systems in the state of Louisiana, with broader implications for the Deep South.  The report reveals that many students in these settings receive minimal instruction, limited access to mental health and counseling services, few qualified teachers, and inadequate transition planning back to traditional schools.

The report urges educational leaders, advocates and policymakers to ensure due process, accountability, and investment in supportive, inclusive educational systems.

Link to report:

https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/end-disciplinary-alternative-education/