Distance Ed Initiative Sought in Jeff City

Wednesday, March 22, 2006
By Eric Crump/Staff writer

Editor's note: This is the first of a series of articles about a virtual public school initiative in Missouri.

Distance education has boomed since the emergence of the Internet, but until recently online education has been mainly a college phenomenon.
That may change soon. The Missouri House of Representatives approved a bill March 13 that would create a virtual public school for children from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The state Senate version of the bill passed out of the Education Committee last week and is slated to be considered by the full Senate later this month.
If the proposal succeeds, Missouri would join more than 20 other states that now offer schooling online to elementary and secondary students. The bill calls for the virtual school to be created by July 1, 2007.
Missouri's plan would differ from most others, though, in its comprehensive approach, according to Bert Schulte, deputy commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
"Some states concentrate on high school, some on middle or elementary," he said. "One of the somewhat unique aspects of ours will be the comprehensiveness of the program."
Students would, in theory at least, be able to complete their entire education through the virtual school.
But the virtual school is not intended to compete directly with conventional schools, according to state Rep. Joe Aull, D-Marshall and a member of the House committee that recently held hearings on the bill.
"The concept has some real merits as long as it is considered an alternative program," he said. "It will be for students who for various reasons don't do well in regular classrooms."
That was one of the main motives for House bill sponsor Brian Baker, R-Belton, in proposing the legislation.
"Technology presents us with the opportunity to reach gifted, home-bound and even troubled kids with a quality education," he said.
Schulte said the virtual school will have to meet all current state assessment standards and teacher credential requirements.
If approved, the virtual school will start with a maximum enrollment of 500 students and will grow to 1,000 students within a couple of years, according to Aull. Considering there are more than 500 school districts in Missouri, the average impact on conventional schools would be small, he said.
"The idea is to give DESE time to see how this will work and pilot the program," Baker said.
The bill includes a funding formula that would split per-student state funding between the virtual school and a student's home district, with the virtual school receiving 85 percent and the home district 15 percent of the state's contribution.