In high school it can be easy to see trouble coming. A student is persistently absent, or starts getting in trouble, or has plummeting grades. Maybe she becomes pregnant, or a family emergency takes center stage. When things really need to change, it makes little sense to proceed as if the status quo is working.

Continuation Schools

Continuation schools (also known as alternative schools) are designed to serve the educational needs of high school students who are not in a position to succeed on the normal path. These schools are a more flexible option for under-credited students in danger of not graduating, working students requiring more flexible hours, students with children, and more. Students are required to attend for at least 15 hours a week.

There are about 800 continuation schools in California, including continuation programs within high schools. There is probably a continuation school that serves your area. California state school officials estimate that about one student out of ten— passes through these schools each year. Data about these schools tend to be imprecise because they serve students with needs that can change quickly and can cause them to move. The pandemic made it even more difficult than usual to keep track of students and maintain investment in continuation schools.

In a review of alternative education options, Jorge Ruiz de Velasco, a Stanford professor, points out that students tend to pass through continuation schools, "either on their way to a diploma or to dropping out of school altogether". He led a study of continuation high schools that described concerns about these schools and made recommendations for improving them:

Students who are pregnant or parenting are often counseled toward continuation schools, which makes some sense — but there is a catch. Many continuation schools don't offer the college-prep courses that students must take to qualify for access to a four-year university. Pregnant and parenting students on the college track may prefer to take up to eight weeks of parental leave instead, a right created for them in 2018.

Alternative schools are designed to serve students that aren't on the normal path. Does it make sense to hold these schools to account in the same way as "regular" schools? In 2015 the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) took up this question in its report Next Steps for Improving State Accountability for Alternative Schools. The state addressed the problem by modifying the accountability dashboard. Alternative schools are assessed using Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS).

Schools for kids in REAL trouble

The law requires that young people receive educational services regardless of their behavior. For many years, students who were expelled for violating the law or charged with doing so were placed in detention facilities managed by the California Youth Authority (CYA). In 2021, responsibility for incarcerated students was transferred to counties in an effort to keep incarcerated students closer to their families. The CYA was closed and remaining responsibilities were transferred to the state Division of Juvenile Justice.

Updated May 2017, March 2019, October 2021, August 2022.