Invisible Schools, Invisible Success
How ALEC Promotes Virtual School Profits Over State Standards & Student Success
“Performance at cyber charter schools was substantially
lower than the performance at brick and mortar charters with 100% of cyber charters performing significantly worse than their traditional public school counterparts in both
reading and math.”
–
“
Charter School Performance in Pennsylvania”
Stanford University, April 2011
“
A portrait emerges of a company that tries to squeeze profits from public school dollars by raising enrollment, increasing teacher workload and lowering standards.
”
–
“Profits and Questions at Online Charter Schools”
New York Times, 12/12/11
May 2012
2
I
NTRODUCTION
In Texas, virtual schools are operated through the Texas Virtual School Network, which is run by the Texas Education Agency. As the Texas Tribune explains
1
:
Through the Texas Virtual School Network, two dozen school districts, community colleges and universities offer online courses in which students across the state can enroll. To develop the curriculum, the districts can subcontract with private companies, universities or even other districts. Starting in third grade, Texas students can also go to virtual school full time [at] what [are] now three campuses operated out of both traditional and charter school districts. The Texas Education Agency has the ultimate authority to approve the courses for both the online schools and the virtual school network, though the
network’s operations take place in a service center in Houston.
Virtual schools are popular because they are profitable.
Estimates show that “
revenues from the K-12 online learning industry will grow by 43 percent between 2010 and 2015, with revenues reaching $24.4 billion.
”
More than 200,000 K-12 students are enrolled in full-time virtual schools across the country; when expanded to all students enrolled in at least one course, the number explodes to 2,000,000.
2
The more children enrolled in virtual schools, the greater the profit for the companies
–
especially now that retiring Republican Senator Florence Shapiro has passed a law that requires the same amount of taxpayer dollars go to virtual school students as students attending traditional schools.
3
This for-profit scheme was supported by the Public Education Committee Chairs in both the House and the Senate
–
Senator Florence Shapiro and State Representative Rob Eissler
–
each of who
sit on ALEC’s
Education Task Force. With the support of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF)
–
which serves as a home away from home for ALEC here in Texas
–
for-profit education companies are attacking Texas public schools, promoting virtual schools, and putting profits ahead of the education needs of Texas children.
1
“Online Classes Booming, But With Red Flags.”
Texas Tribune
, 10/14/11. http://bit.ly/JBEnh1
2
“Why is Public Education Being Outsourced to Online Charter Schools?”
AlterNet
. 1/8/02. http://bit.ly/JeS7Q4
3
Senate Bill 1. 1
st
Called Special Session of the 82
nd
Texas Legislature. http://bit.ly/JJHTaL
The Public Education Committee Chairs in both the House and the Senate
–
Senator Florence Shapiro and Representative Rob Eissler
–
sit on ALEC’s
Education Task Force.
3
In December 2004, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) approved the
“Virtual Public Schools Act.”
4
That model bill sparked a rush by private companies to embrace virtual schools and virtual learning across the country. Today, there are more than 230 nationwide accredited private virtual schools in the country.
5
In 2007, the virtual school wave prompted the unanimous passage of Senate Bill 1788 in Texas, creating the Virtual School Network. The network was originally created to facilitate online learning in Texas classrooms and support virtual schools across the state. The state of Texas sends taxpayer dollars to these schools, to keep them open and operated, even though the full-time virtual schools are run by for-profit companies. Almost five years after it was established, the Virtual School Network
–
along with virtual schools across the country
–
remains unproven and unaccountable to Texas taxpayers.
Here in Texas, the Texas Virtual Academy failed to meet state standards for two years.
Yet rather than being shut down or forced to change its methods, the virtual school was allowed to continue operating without question due to a loophole in state law that allowed the Texas Virtual Academy to simply be reinstituted into a different charter school system, without having to undergo any changes.
6
Virtual schools are underperforming in similar ways occur across the country. A recent
study by Stanford University’s Ce
nter for Research on Education Outcomes found that 100% of virtual schools in Pennsylvania performed significantly worse than traditional public schools in reading and math.
7
Over half the students at Ohio Virtual Academy dropped out by the end of the 2010-2011 school year.
8
Why are virtual schools and virtual learning programs so often trumpeted as the savior to education?
Invisible Schools, Invisible Success
is a report that attempts to collect and explain the moving pieces of the virtual school movement in Texas, and how ALEC and TPPF are promoting failed learning techniques at the expense of Texas students and taxpayers. The report examines who is promoting virtual schools through ALEC, how those corporations are tied to Texas, the evolution of virtual schools in Texas, and why virtual schools don
’t work.
4
“Virtual Public Schools Act.”
ALEC EXPOSED
, a site by the Center for Media and Democracy. http://bit.ly/JwI6gc
5
“List of Virtual Schools.”
Wikipedia
. Accessed 5/14/12. http://bit.ly/Kapxux
6
“Virtual Schools, Virtually Unregulated.”
Texas Observer
, 10/10/11. http://bit.ly/L1ozSb
7
“Charter School Performance in Pennsylvania.” Center for Research on Education Outcomes, April 2011.
8
“K12 Manifesting Its Corporate Destiny.”
Seeking Alpha
, 2/27/12. http://bit.ly/J4UOVb
Almost five years after it was established, the Virtual School Network
–
along with virtual schools across the country
–
remains unproven and unaccountable to Texas taxpayers.