High school noncompletion rates remain persistently high. Youth Tuitionships are a mechanism for supporting learners who are not suited financially, emotionally, or pedagogically for the traditional high school learning environment of grades 11 and 12. They provide a mechanism whereby various forms of federal, state, and local aid can be self-directed by students and their parents to maximize learning experiences and personal growth and development. Youth Tuitionships are an alternative to a fragmented categorical system of federal funding that attempts to address specific needs. A review of the learning industry's changing market dynamics, the impact of the "new economy," the profile of workers and learners between the ages of 16 and 24 years, and secondary career development financing makes it clear that Youth Tuitionships could serve as a universal, simplified mechanism of funding alternative and accelerated learning and could become part of a larger federal initiative to create a portable financing vehicle for lifelong learning called the Career Learning Account. Five steps that policymakers can take to advance the Youth Tuitionships concept have been identified. (Legal age requirements for 16- to 19-year-olds in the 50 states and a discussion of recent developments in self-directed financing for education, training, and lifelong learning are appended.) (MN)