Editor's note: School choice supporters see expansion of choice as especially promising for at-risk students. In this guest post, Alan Bonsteel, president of California Parents for Educational Choice, suggests they turn their attention to an under-the-radar, public-school sector that doesn't have much success with the students who struggle the most.

by Alan Bonsteel

The nation's continuation schools are probably the most dysfunctional of our public schools, and yet the large majority of parents, taxpayers and voters - and even many education researchers - are unaware of their existence.

As a 30-year veteran of the school choice wars in California, I am familiar with how we handle this issue in our state. But data on the rest of the nation is extremely hard to find.

In California, 56 of our 58 counties run what we call county offices of education. The two exceptions occur in counties in which there is only a single city.

These county offices run "continuation" schools for students who are floundering in traditional public schools, often because they have behavioral problems. They run a different brand of continuation schools for students incarcerated in the juvenile justice system (and who initially arrive at the schools in the backs of police cars). They operate schools for kids with learning disabilities. They also teach adult high school dropouts who are returning to complete their high school education.

Surveys done by our organization, California Parents for Educational Choice, show only about 25 percent of adults in California are aware of the existence of the county offices. With such weak oversight by voters, it is hardly surprising that the quality here is abysmal. (more…)