Governor Mike Rounds had a vision that more students needed to graduate from high school and not drop out. To accomplish his vision, in 2007, he signed into law Senate Bill 199, that became Codified Law 13-27-1. The law states that students need to remain in school until the age of 18 instead of the age of 16. This seemingly minor change greatly impacted high schools in South Dakota who were now forced to develop educational programs for students who would have otherwise quit and dropped out of school once they turned 16. One method to address this academic need was to develop an alternative education program to educated students who were disenchanted with school and would have dropped out if given the opportunity. A researcher-developed survey instrument was sent to approximately 150 public high school principals in South Dakota with 77 respondents (51.3%) to the survey instrument. A five-point Likert-type scale was used to measure respondents' perceptions about the qualities found in alternative schools. Principals' responses were analyzed by demographics of school size, location of the district, years of experience in education, and economic status. Data were collected and analyzed to find differences between perceptions regarding the quality of instruction and level of learning in alternative schools. The study found that principals believe that the quality of instruction in alternative schools is effective, specifically in the areas of assessing and grading students. The principals believe there needs to be improvement in the techniques used to motivate students. The study found the principals believe that teachers who serve lower economic students are not as prepared and their motivational techniques are not effective. Principals believe the quality of instruction appeared to be higher than the level of learning in alternative schools. The study showed that principals believe the curriculum in alternative schools did not appear to be aligned to the state content standards, but they did believe that the diploma from an alternative school was considered equivalent to a regular high school diploma. Also economic status influenced the principals' beliefs about the quality of instruction. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]