If you found,

JustSarah said:

A specific school you want to base your story on (a real life existing school), what is the general procedure for gaining research materials for how a classroom procedure in constructed?

I've pretty much found the city I'm basing it on.

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What do you mean by the bolded section, please?

The curriculum might be published online. Barring that, you could probably call the school and tell them what you wanted, and they would probably be open to sending you the curriculum. If you lived close, they would probably let you speak with teachers or observe in a classroom. The rules might be a little tighter these days for on campus visits, but you can call and find out.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I know what type of school you're talking about; we had one across the street from my high school. But I'm not sure the curriculum for a "reform" type school would be available on the website for the school district. You could call the district office and ask whether they have such a school or not.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Ahhh, I wouldn't give out any information from someone calling up and saying, I am writing a story, what is your schedule like? Several reasons.

1...Reform or disciplinary type school, you might be trying to break someone out.

2...Privacy information, they do deal with juveniles, especially if you are an adult and do not have a child registered there.

My suggestion, contact juvenile probation officer or courts. Once they know who you are, they still might be hesitant on what you are writing about THEIR program...

General curriculums are published as part of state wide standards. Reform schools cover the same material. The rules are often stricter, but the material is the same. I'm in New York state. We have two classes of diploma - Regents' and local. To get a regents' diploma you must pass a certain umber of regents' exams. Local diploma students take the exams but get a lower grade and pass the courses. All of this info is available on the state website - nysed.org (or .gov.) I've done similar research for California students. The city websites have much of it, including a school calendar and coursework.
Specific classes may vary by year, but not much.