Schools
State Rep Stepping in to Delay Virtual Online Learning
State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, is crafting legislation that would put a one-year moratorium on virtual online learning proposals to local school districts.
A one-year moratorium on the creation of virtual online charter schools is making its way through the Illinois legislature.
After school boards from around the Fox Valley area voted last week to deny Virtual Learning Solutions' K12 Inc. admittance to their curriculum, state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, is crafting legislation that would stop the online learning proposals for up to a year, according to a report in the Kane County Chronicle. The moratorium would give the state more time to study virtual online learning and its effects on education.
The legislation, which is co-sponsored by state Rep. Kay Hatcher, R-Yorkville, passed Chapa LaVia’s House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee this week, and soon could make its way to the full House for a vote, the Chronicle reported.
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“All my school boards voiced their concerns about this topic. Online learning has great value, but the (Illinois State Charter School Commission) was not created to address a totally virtual environment,” Hatcher said in a post on her Facebook page. “This gives everyone time to address our changing education platform.”
In March, K12 vice-president Randall Greenway presented the company's plan to partner with Virtual Learning Systems to bring the online charter school to area districts.
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Known as Illinois Virtual Charter School @ Fox River Valley, the proposal drew criticism from board members from Geneva School District 304 and Batavia School District 101, administrators and even residents.
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