This article examines so-called "alternative schools," taking care to define precisely what is meant by this designation. There are many types of alternative education available to the public, including those programs intended for special-education students, advanced-placement students, and home-schooled children. The first alternative schools emerged in the 1960s as urban districts tried to help struggling minority and poor youngsters succeed in school. Today, these schools' philosophies, purpose, and facilities vary widely, but they typically serve 200 or fewer students and have a greater staff/student ratio than regular public schools. The types of alternative schools include those that try to reform unruly or adjudicated adolescents and those that try to change the school experience and the way students think about school. A problem with programs that try to rehabilitate students is that by targeting difficult students, equity in the schools might be threatened by the segregation of minorities, the poor, and the disabled. A criticism of schools that try to change the entire school experience, such as the Waldorf Schools and Harmony Schools, is that they adopt methods without fully understanding the impact of these approaches. It is recommended that alternative educators gain more control over who attends and that they recruit a more diversified student body. (Contains 24 references.) (RJM)