Connecting to virtual schools

Aaaaaand, they're off!

State legislators started debating a massive education reform bill on Tuesday.

It's the start of what's sure to be a long and passionate exchange, as legislators in both chambers struggle to find common ground in a vast sea of possible changes to the way Iowa's K-12 schools do business.

On the eve of the debate, Gov. Terry Branstad made one more plea for legislators to “be bold” in considering reforms such as his proposal to allow students to take up to 100 percent of their public school coursework online.

“This is not 1950,” Branstad cautioned on Monday. A good reminder for lawmakers when debating a host of topics, I'd say.

But even though virtual schools are becoming increasingly popular across the country, we're not exactly living in some kind of Buck Rogers technotopia, either. Let's hope legislators remember that in the days ahead.

Part of virtual schools' appeal is that they save school districts money, although proponents prefer to focus on the convenience of anywhere, anytime learning and the variety of courses offered. Backers call the schools a natural fit for young learners who, they point out, practically live online anyway.

Well, some of them do.

As legislators debate, we'll likely hear by-now-familiar concerns about instructional quality, the lack of human interaction and the ethics of handing taxpayer money to a handful of private, out-of-state companies.

Unfortunately, we're not likely to hear much about access.

What access, you ask. Iowa's open enrollment law means any Iowa student could enroll in any Iowa virtual school.

Ah, yes - but to fully participate, they need access to an up-to-date computer and a high-speed Internet connection. There's the rub.

According to the folks over at the non-profit Connect Iowa, just over half of Iowa's low-income households with children have broadband connections at home - 1 in 3 don't even have a computer.

Among minority groups, only 37 percent of low-income households with children have broadband access. Just over half of all rural households, regardless of income, have high-speed connections.

So as legislators debate the finer points this week - the virtues and vices of virtual learning, of unlimited enrollment, the proper role of a flesh-and-blood instructor - they should remember those details just won't matter for a good number of Iowa students. Not because they're not interested, but because they're not connected.

Comments: (319) 339-3154; jennifer.hemmingsen@sourcemedia.net