A bill meant to increase the transparency and accountability for virtual charter schools passed the Senate unanimously on Monday. House Bill 2905 was authored by Representative Sheila Dills and Senator Dewayne Pemberton. The measure now heads to the Governor’s Desk for consideration.
HB 2905 sets attendance and student engagement policies for the virtual charter schools by defining the “first date of attendance” and other standards.
“This measure ensures students served by public virtual charter schools are protected and given every opportunity to achieve better outcomes, and it keeps parental flexibility intact. We’ve seen even in this recent pandemic the value of virtual learning options and the benefit for students and their families. We do, however, want to make sure that our virtual charters’ policies are transparent to the public, particularly in how they receive and spend taxpayer dollars for the students they serve.”
Pemberton agrees that something had to be done to ensure students are getting a quality education.
“Virtual education plays an important role in Oklahoma’s education system,” Pemberton said. “However, after many studies and meetings, we realized that changes were needed to address virtual charters’ policies on transfers, attendance, truancy and other areas of public concern to ensure students are getting the education they deserve. This bill will also ensure students and parents fully understand what virtual education involves and what will be required and expected of them in order to be successful. I want to thank Representative Dills for spearheading these major reforms that will help improve these schools and the education their students receive.”
These “reforms” are just regulations that will add administrative burdens and costs to virtual schools. Senator Pemberton would gladly kill virtual schools if he could. He can’t, so this is the next best thing.