What is the difference between alternate and modified curriculum?

In California, alternate curriculum is a separate or ‘out of the box’ curriculum some districts offer for students with significant support needs that isn’t always aligned to the state general education standards, while modified curriculum gives a students with significant support needs access to the same academic content as their peers, but at their instructional level. For example, a teacher may modify an essay-writing assignment by making it significantly shorter or about a less complex topic.

Note that “curriculum” here refers to the content and standards to be studied in each grade, rather than the learning materials used, which can vary widely from school to school.

While children with cognitive disabilities are likely to need modifications to be successful when accessing general education curriculum, this does not mean they need to switch to an “alternate curriculum.” Their modifications should keep them as close to the state standards as possible. Parents should be aware of the implications of this decision for when their child reaches high school.

For more, see our article Building a Goal-Oriented Future: Earning a Diploma or a Certificate of Completion.