Boldly Committed to Truth Telling in the False Face of Fakery
GOP Leaders May Expand Virtual Charter Schools
Publisher's note: The author of this fine report, Dan Way, is an associate editor of the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.
RALEIGH Virtual charter schools and other distance-learning options would be unshackled from the legal-political bind in which they remain idled if Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Forest has his way.
"Virtual charter schools should be back on the table for discussion, but online education of all types should be looked at," Forest said.
As lieutenant governor, he will sit on the State Board of Education, which sets policy for K-12 education throughout the state, and chair the 30-member Learning Commission, which explores ways to connect students to online learning opportunities.
"There haven't been any formal discussions" about virtual education with Gov.-elect Pat McCrory, said Forest, who, like McCrory, is a Republican. McCrory will be sworn in Jan. 5, and Forest will begin presiding over the Senate on Jan. 9, after which he expects discussions to get more detailed.
As it stands, virtual charter schools are mired in litigation. Last year, State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison unilaterally decided the state would not accept applications for virtual charter schools until more study could be done, policies created, and funding found. The case involved NC Learns, a proposed nonprofit digital learning school in Cabarrus County.
An administrative law judge sided with the Cabarrus County school district plaintiffs against Harrison. But Wake County Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones overturned the administrative law judge's decision and sided with Harrison, saying Harrison's action could be considered a board decision. That ruling is now on appeal.
"We need to break some monopolies that have been held by the teachers unions and the state school board in terms of calling all the shots, and allowing parents to have more say" in their children's educational choices, Forest said.
Eddie Goodall, executive director of the North Carolina Public Charter Schools Association, advocates for expansion of online education as part of a balanced school choice menu.
The state Department of Public Instruction's North Carolina Virtual Public School provides nearly all online K-12 classes in the state. DPI operates the nation's second-largest state online learning system. But it is tightly regulated, and enrollment is limited.
Goodall said the state's charter school organizations have gotten little information from state officials about how virtual charter schools would be integrated into the existing framework.
"That deserves a very broad discussion in our state," Goodall said, "with everybody impacted having a part of that discussion, including ... existing schools."
He said NC Learns was too aloof in setting up operations in the state last year, and that approach should not be repeated.
"Nobody knew who they were. They didn't come to the charter community and say, 'Hey, we'd like to share your children,'" Goodall said. "I would encourage virtual school vendors, when they come to our state, to be part of the broader education scene."
Prospective charter schools that hope to open in 2014 must file applications with the state by Jan. 4. Goodall worried that some applicants were unaware of the early deadline and would miss out.
As of Dec. 18, 19 letters of intent were submitted by charter organizations for the 2014-15 school year. More than 60 applications for the 2013-14 school year were submitted last year after the new Republican-led legislature lifted the longstanding 100-school cap on charters.
"I don't think we'll come close to that number" in this next round, Goodall said.
However, he said, several charter letters of intent should be submitted for a "blended school" that offers classroom instruction complemented by online courses.
"I don't know of anyone who's going to file an application for a totally [virtual] K-12 school where they didn't have a fixed site," he said.
Goodall also plans to discuss with legislative leaders the possibility of creating a separate category for virtual schools. "I think [virtual schools] are falling under the charter school umbrella out of convenience," Goodall said.
Terry Stoops, director of research and education studies at the John Locke Foundation, believes virtual charter school activity will remain in limbo until the NC Learns legal matter is resolved. Operators are unlikely to move into the state while legal and political barriers exist, he said.
Until then, the NCVPS will remain the main player, he said, although its supply of online courses already is outstripped by demand.
"That to me suggests that there is an additional need for other virtual school options," Stoops said.
"We're not talking about a huge market share. We're talking about a small number of students taking a blended model mainly to get a supplemental education from their school district," Stoops said.
Students take online courses for a variety of reasons. Some are young parents. Others may need to work to support their families. Some may be victims of bullying or have medical conditions that make traditional school challenging, and still others may live in small or rural districts that do not offer the curriculum they desire.
interests, "and that means there will be an attempt to construct regulations and rules ... that will limit the amount of courses it offers and students it enrolls," Stoops said.
The State Board of Education will resist virtual charter education "for as long as [it] can because it brings choice to every student in the state regardless of where they live, and as a result it also diverts funding from the traditional public school system to the virtual charter school," Stoops said.
"So the resistance to the idea is originating from the traditional public schools and the advocacy groups that support them, the North Carolina Association of Educators, North Carolina School Boards Association, and their ilk," he said.
Several members of the charter school advisory group that reviews applications and makes recommendations on behalf of the State Board of Education "are not warm to the idea of virtual charter schools, so I don't expect the advisory group to come to a consensus as to how to implement virtual charter schools," he said.
If the state board does not create a policy outlining membership responsibilities and duties of the advisory committee, McCrory could seek a statutory change through the General Assembly to codify those rules.
"I don't think that the legislature has a whole lot of interest in tinkering with the charter school statute," Stoops said.
Go Back
RALEIGH Virtual charter schools and other distance-learning options would be unshackled from the legal-political bind in which they remain idled if Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Forest has his way.
"Virtual charter schools should be back on the table for discussion, but online education of all types should be looked at," Forest said.
As lieutenant governor, he will sit on the State Board of Education, which sets policy for K-12 education throughout the state, and chair the 30-member Learning Commission, which explores ways to connect students to online learning opportunities.
"There haven't been any formal discussions" about virtual education with Gov.-elect Pat McCrory, said Forest, who, like McCrory, is a Republican. McCrory will be sworn in Jan. 5, and Forest will begin presiding over the Senate on Jan. 9, after which he expects discussions to get more detailed.
As it stands, virtual charter schools are mired in litigation. Last year, State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison unilaterally decided the state would not accept applications for virtual charter schools until more study could be done, policies created, and funding found. The case involved NC Learns, a proposed nonprofit digital learning school in Cabarrus County.
An administrative law judge sided with the Cabarrus County school district plaintiffs against Harrison. But Wake County Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones overturned the administrative law judge's decision and sided with Harrison, saying Harrison's action could be considered a board decision. That ruling is now on appeal.
"We need to break some monopolies that have been held by the teachers unions and the state school board in terms of calling all the shots, and allowing parents to have more say" in their children's educational choices, Forest said.
Eddie Goodall, executive director of the North Carolina Public Charter Schools Association, advocates for expansion of online education as part of a balanced school choice menu.
The state Department of Public Instruction's North Carolina Virtual Public School provides nearly all online K-12 classes in the state. DPI operates the nation's second-largest state online learning system. But it is tightly regulated, and enrollment is limited.
Goodall said the state's charter school organizations have gotten little information from state officials about how virtual charter schools would be integrated into the existing framework.
"That deserves a very broad discussion in our state," Goodall said, "with everybody impacted having a part of that discussion, including ... existing schools."
He said NC Learns was too aloof in setting up operations in the state last year, and that approach should not be repeated.
"Nobody knew who they were. They didn't come to the charter community and say, 'Hey, we'd like to share your children,'" Goodall said. "I would encourage virtual school vendors, when they come to our state, to be part of the broader education scene."
Prospective charter schools that hope to open in 2014 must file applications with the state by Jan. 4. Goodall worried that some applicants were unaware of the early deadline and would miss out.
As of Dec. 18, 19 letters of intent were submitted by charter organizations for the 2014-15 school year. More than 60 applications for the 2013-14 school year were submitted last year after the new Republican-led legislature lifted the longstanding 100-school cap on charters.
"I don't think we'll come close to that number" in this next round, Goodall said.
However, he said, several charter letters of intent should be submitted for a "blended school" that offers classroom instruction complemented by online courses.
"I don't know of anyone who's going to file an application for a totally [virtual] K-12 school where they didn't have a fixed site," he said.
Goodall also plans to discuss with legislative leaders the possibility of creating a separate category for virtual schools. "I think [virtual schools] are falling under the charter school umbrella out of convenience," Goodall said.
Terry Stoops, director of research and education studies at the John Locke Foundation, believes virtual charter school activity will remain in limbo until the NC Learns legal matter is resolved. Operators are unlikely to move into the state while legal and political barriers exist, he said.
Until then, the NCVPS will remain the main player, he said, although its supply of online courses already is outstripped by demand.
"That to me suggests that there is an additional need for other virtual school options," Stoops said.
"We're not talking about a huge market share. We're talking about a small number of students taking a blended model mainly to get a supplemental education from their school district," Stoops said.
Students take online courses for a variety of reasons. Some are young parents. Others may need to work to support their families. Some may be victims of bullying or have medical conditions that make traditional school challenging, and still others may live in small or rural districts that do not offer the curriculum they desire.
interests, "and that means there will be an attempt to construct regulations and rules ... that will limit the amount of courses it offers and students it enrolls," Stoops said.
The State Board of Education will resist virtual charter education "for as long as [it] can because it brings choice to every student in the state regardless of where they live, and as a result it also diverts funding from the traditional public school system to the virtual charter school," Stoops said.
"So the resistance to the idea is originating from the traditional public schools and the advocacy groups that support them, the North Carolina Association of Educators, North Carolina School Boards Association, and their ilk," he said.
Several members of the charter school advisory group that reviews applications and makes recommendations on behalf of the State Board of Education "are not warm to the idea of virtual charter schools, so I don't expect the advisory group to come to a consensus as to how to implement virtual charter schools," he said.
If the state board does not create a policy outlining membership responsibilities and duties of the advisory committee, McCrory could seek a statutory change through the General Assembly to codify those rules.
"I don't think that the legislature has a whole lot of interest in tinkering with the charter school statute," Stoops said.
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