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State approves funding for virtual schooling
By Stephanie Flemmons, Staff writer
State legislators recently passed a bill that will allow more high school students the ability to access virtual schooling now that state funding is available.
The Texas Virtual School Network (TVSN) will provide additional opportunities and options for Texas students through online courses. Students will be able to participate in online courses that are led by teachers.
State Representative Jerry Madden (R-Plano), who authored the Virtual School Bill, said the legislation is designed to give high school students the ability to take classes that are not currently available on their campus, help students catch up if they have fallen behind and allow students to fit classes in while they participate in extracurricular activities.
Currently the TVSN offers a dozen classes, but Madden said once the program is in full throttle he expects thousands of classes to become available for students.
Virtual schooling was authorized by the Texas Legislature in 2007 to provide online courses to students in Texas, but did not provide funding. House Bill 3646 addresses the funding, dispersing to the provider districts $400 for each course completed and $80 to the district in which the student resides for administrative purposes.
The Plano Independent School District has offered virtual schooling since 2001 for $230 to $300 per semester course. The district’s policy is to allow students to take up to three credits online, which is equivalent to six classes.
Jean Parmer, assistant director for PISD’s eSchool, said now that the state has approved funding she hopes it will provide a wider range for the youth to take the courses.
“Now it will be open to all,” Parmer said. “The online program allows a great deal of flexibility and a lot of times will allow students to recover credits. Sometimes students don’t have enough space in their campus curriculum to take all the courses they need.”
Dr. Cathy Galloway, executive director of Student and Family Services, said she believes virtual schooling will climb slowly, but surely.
“We are very excited,” Galloway said. “This is a big next step for online learning.”
Denise Laman, Madden’s coordinator, said all students n including homeschooled students, and those involved in fine arts, band and athletics n can benefit from virtual classes.
“The amazing thing about this bill is it caters to every child,” Laman said. “If you’re here in Plano and you want to play football and you want to take three years of French so you can go to Yale, you can do that.”
Virtual schooling is also designed to be available for youth offenders incarcerated in juvenile detention centers and the Texas Youth Commission. Madden said this will give the youth offenders the opportunity to keep up with their education while in correctional facilities.
“A lot of times, when they get out they are behind in school,” Madden said. “In many cases these kids are recognized as having special needs. We will be able to provide them with the classes they need that were not set up before.”
Madden said he and his staff and Sen. Florence Shapiro have worked hand-in-hand since 2003 to get the bill approved.
In 2003, Madden was asked by the Public Education Committee to author the Virtual School Bill. He said he researched other states that had programs in place, including Florida. In the 2005 session, Madden said a bill was put together, but every education group in the state was opposing the bill.
“We had not looked into all the details and how to do it right,” Madden said. “They wanted more teacher control, the funding and classes weren’t right — it just had problems.”
The bill was passed in the House committee, but got killed on the calendar.
Madden said the Texas Education Agency began liking the idea and virtual pilot programs were increasing across the state.
“Plano had one of the best in the state,” Madden said. “In fact, an employee at the Department of Education commented how great Plano’s system was.”
In 2003, Madden began taking a closer look at virtual programs across the state, like Plano’s, which had put in a lot of man-hours and resources.
In 2007, the bill passed, but the legislatures failed to fully fund the diverse course offerings, making districts hesitant to utilize the platform.
Due to members in the House stalling during the most recent legislative session, Madden said he feared the virtual bill would die.
Madden included his HB 3646 as an amendment to Shapiro’s School Finance Bill in the Senate, where it passed.
The next stage of the process is for Gov. Rick Perry to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law by June 21, 2009.
Contact Stephanie Flemmons at sflemmons@acnpapers.com
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