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Why Restrict Digital Learning?

“Finn: All students could access high-quality education”
by Deirdre Finn
Op-Ed
Richmond Times-Dispatch
March 6, 2012

Virginia lawmakers are being asked today to consider legislation (SB 598) that severely restricts students’ access to a high-quality education. This legislation prohibits students from enrolling in an approved virtual school that is offered by a school division other than their own.

In this day and age, the Internet makes geography irrelevant to getting a great education. Virtual learning tears down the greatest barrier to high-quality education — access to a rigorous curriculum taught by effective educators. With virtual learning, all students — particularly those in rural regions or urban centers — can access the same high quality education typically enjoyed by students in affluent suburban neighborhoods. Students who live anywhere can learn anywhere. For many students, the option to attend a virtual school is a lifeline to an education that prepares them for success in college and challenging 21st-century careers.

Technology has changed the way we live, work and play. It has increased productivity in the workplace and enhanced communication with family and friends. And it has the power to transform education.

Imagine if the law applied the same restrictions to other areas of life. Limiting online shopping to stores in your neighborhood would likely cause outrage. Restricting access to Web-based learning should cause the same reaction.

Last year, I was part of a team of independent researchers that reviewed and analyzed education policies in every state in the nation for Digital Learning Now!, a national initiative launched by former Govs. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) and Bob Wise (D-W.Va.) to harness the power of technology to provide an education that prepares each and every student for success in college and challenging 21st-century careers. Virginia scored well in that analysis, but this legislation runs the risk of reversing all the progress Virginia has made.

Digital learning, whether offered online or in the classroom, has the potential to customize education so every student learns — no student gets bored and no student gets left behind.

The greatest obstacles to students accessing virtual education are not funding, availability of high-quality options, technology or Internet connectivity. The greatest obstacles are policies that allow school divisions to deny virtual education to students and the use of geography to determine eligibility — both of which are relics of an education system that was established well before the World Wide Web. SB 598 in its current form exacerbates both of these problems.

Allowing students to choose a virtual school outside of their school division would offer multiple benefits.

First, students would only be allowed to choose from a school that has been approved by a school division in the state of Virginia. All virtual school options would be approved by a school division.

Second, multiple options would allow students to choose the school that ensures their greatest chance of academic success. Providing students with the best opportunity to earn a high school diploma, even if it is not the choice of the school division, is in the best interests of the students whose future depends on their education and the taxpayers who pay for the results.

Third, not all school divisions would have to contract with all providers, which would reduce the burden on school divisions while maximizing choices for students. Given the tremendous pressure on education budgets, this option could provide a welcome relief to school divisions.

The original legislation provided a common-sense solution to the challenge of paying for virtual school, given the varied funding levels provided by school divisions throughout Virginia. The proposed legislation established an equitable formula to pay for the education of students who attend virtual school and left the choice to the families, not the school divisions.

But the original legislation, which would have empowered students and parents, has been severely amended. It is now nearly 180 degrees from where it started.

Virginia lawmakers have the opportunity to tap into the incredible potential of technology to transform education and unleash the academic potential of students across the state. Our hope is, lawmakers will embrace the power of online learning and ensure all students have access to a quality education.

Deirdre Finn is deputy director of the Foundation for Excellence in Education and director of Digital Learning Now! Get more information at info@excelined.org or (850) 491-4090.