State virtual schools compared to course choice in pandemic response
Over the last ten years or so there has been a quiet debate about the relative merits of using state virtual schools, versus course choice programs, among states that wish to promote supplemental online learning course availability for students in mainstream districts. The pandemic may be providing an additional data point in this debate—although it’s still early.
State virtual schools are entities that are subsidized by the state government to provide online learning opportunities to students across the state. Examples include state virtual schools in South Carolina, Georgia, Montana, Idaho, and about two dozen states in total. In some states (e.g. Michigan) the state virtual school also plays a leading role in research and reporting. In other states (e.g. Florida) the state virtual school also provides a full-time school option for students. Still, the core of all such entities is providing supplemental online learning courses.
Course choice (also commonly referred to as “course access”) describes a set of state-level policies and programs that allow students to choose an online course from one or more providers, and have their public education funds flow to the online course provider. The key element of the policy, as the term suggests, is that students and parents have the right to choose a course, with relatively few restrictions on their options imposed by the state or the student’s district of enrollment.
I say “quiet debate” because I’m not aware of any conference presentations, op-eds, or other avenues in which the merits of the two approaches have been openly debated. Also, in three states (Georgia, Florida, and Michigan), the two policy strategies work in tandem.
But those three states are the exception. The other dozen states that have course choice policies do not have state virtual schools, and the other states that have state virtual schools don’t have course choice. In Louisiana and Utah, the course choice policy seems to have been part of an explicit shift away from supporting the state virtual school.
What are we seeing during the pandemic? What follows are some observations based mostly on media reports. To be clear, this is not the subject of a serious study. But it appears that early data points suggest that state virtual schools are better positioned to respond to the growth in remote learning needs than the course choice programs.
One main reason for this difference is that state virtual schools are actual entities—with leaders, staff, offices, etc—that can receive additional government money and scale up relatively quickly. Course choice is mostly based on a policy shift that allows students to select an online course, with a limited entity overseeing the policy. In addition, most state virtual schools have a longer history than most course choice programs, and in many cases are better known.
Examples of increased support for state virtual schools during the pandemic include:
Georgia is increasing its funding of the Georgia Virtual School, which has already seen a 30% increase in enrollment.
Virtual Virginia is receiving a bump in state funding, in part to increase elementary course availability.
Colorado Digital Learning Solutions has received several million dollars from the governor, as part of a larger effort to increase districts’ ability to use online learning.
Most, if not all, of this funding increase is from federal funds via the CARES Act and other funding flowing to states. Therefore, it is likely that this will be a one-time increase, pending additional federal funding.
In contrast, we’re not seeing examples of course choice being pushed in response to school closures and the need for remote learning. In fact, in discussing the new course choice program in Illinois, Chalkbeat asks this question: Illinois debuted a virtual learning system months before the pandemic. Why is no one talking about it?
Are we missing activity that is happening on the ground? Perhaps. But a quick search of websites and news related to the main course choice programs doesn’t show much increased activity. One exception may be the Launch program in Missouri, which is run by the Springfield school district under the state’s course choice regulations.
Course choice policies and state virtual school programs represent two different types of state governments’ responses to the state’s desire to increase online learning course opportunities for K-12 students. We know of successful examples of both approaches, and this post is not meant to suggest that we favor one over the other. But the early returns appear to suggest that, so far at least, states with state virtual schools are a bit better situated to respond to school closures and remote learning, compared to states that have created course choice policies.