As online K-12 schooling expands, the establishment is trying to regulate it or squelch it, reports the New York Times.
MILWAUKEE — Weekday mornings, three of Tracie Weldie’s children eat breakfast, make beds and trudge off to public school — in their case, downstairs to their basement in a suburb here, where their mother leads them through math and other lessons outlined by an Internet-based charter school.
Half a million American children take classes online, with a significant group, like the Weldies, getting all their schooling from virtual public schools. The rapid growth of these schools has provoked debates in courtrooms and legislatures over money, as the schools compete with local districts for millions in public dollars, and over issues like whether online learning is appropriate for young children.
In addition to virtual charter schools, often enrolling children who’d otherwise be homeschooled at parents’ expense, states are funding online classes for middle and high school students.
Some school districts sponsor virtual charters using curricula developed by private companies such as K12. In several states, moves are afoot to cut per-student funding for virtual charters.
In 2004, the teachers’ union filed a lawsuit against (Wisconsin Virtual Academy), challenging the expansive role given to parents, who must spend four to five hours daily leading their children through lesson plans and overseeing their work. Teachers monitor student progress and answer questions in a couple of half-hour telephone conferences per month and in interactive online classes using conferencing software held several times monthly.
A state court dismissed the case, but in December an appeals court said the academy was violating a state law requiring that public school teachers be licensed.
Parents rallied to save online schools and Wisconsin legislators “agreed on a bipartisan bill that would allow the schools to stay open, while requiring online teachers to keep closely in touch with students and increasing state oversight.”
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