Giving Compass' Take:

• Last week, the Center for American Progress released a report calling for the ban of for-profit online charter schools.  This prompted a government investigation of the accountability in virtual charter schools. 

• The author points out the need for higher standards for virtual charter schools to ensure quality academic performance. What are the next steps to make this happen and what needs to be done to increase oversight? 

• Read about South Carolina's experience with virtual charter schools. 

Once again, virtual charter schools are coming under heavy scrutiny. Last week, the Center for American Progress published a report that called for banning for-profit online charter school operators. Soon thereafter, two Democratic U.S. senators called for a Government Accountability Office investigation of virtual charter schools.

While meaningful federal action might be unlikely under the current administration, congressional pressure might help force action at the state and local levels. States that have tried to crack down on large virtual charter schools, or hold them accountable for academic and financial issues, have faced massive pushback from online school operators.

Since we published our report, the need for better oversight has only become clearer. The high-profile shutdown of Ohio’s Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow left thousands of families scrambling and underscored the risks poorly regulated online schools can pose for the public education system as a whole.

Our approach to regulating public education must become more flexible and more nimble. That does not necessarily mean more lax. Regardless of how they choose to deal with full-time online charter schools, policymakers need to look for innovative ways to set a high bar for academic performance, ensure proper protections for public funds, and guard against the systemic risks exposed by the Ohio school’s abrupt shutdown.

Our report revealed some approaches that can improve oversight, including:

  • Experiment with performance-based funding, or fund online schools based on courses their students actually complete, rather than raw enrollment numbers.
  • Create well-defined frameworks for evaluating online charter schools, as Colorado has done, or delineate specific requirements for these schools, as Maine has.
  • Increase transparency by requiring online charter providers to publicly report enrollment, engagement, and student achievement data that they already collect.

Read the full article about online charter schools by Robin Lake at The 74