The Utah legislature is getting a lot of heat these days for what a good number of people are calling really bad mistakes. I have discussed some of them in previous blogs, but I don't want anyone to think I don't appreciate the legislators when they get it right, which is the more frequent result by far. So, this week, I want to let you in on an idea that is as good, if not better, than passing the Sound Money Act:
Substitute Senate Bill 65 (SB65-S), the "Statewide Online Education Act," was sponsored by Sen. Howard Stephenson with Rep. Bradley Daw as House sponsor. SB65-S creates, according to the bill, a "Statewide Online Education Program to enable a student to earn high school graduation credit through the completion of online courses."
Colleges and universities pioneered online education over a decade ago, and secondary schools are now in the act as well. In fact, Western Governors University is a Utah-based, accredited university operated as a cooperative effort by the governors of 19 western states, and the Open High School of Utah is a public charter school – both operate entirely in cyberspace. Adding this option to more traditional schools was inevitable and SB65-S made that leap.
The goal is simple, as the bill specifies: "The purposes of an online school are to provide a student with access to online learning options regardless of where the student attends school, whether a public, private, or home school; provide high quality learning options for a student regardless of language, residence, family income, or special needs." [Emphasis mine.]
According to the 2011 Legislative Scorecard, published by Parents for Choice in Education (PCE), a Utah advocacy group, the Act won the support of most of Utah's Republican legislators, and passed in spite of nay votes from every single Democrat in the Utah Senate and House of Representatives.
Notice that private school and home school students are specifically included in this Act! I have personally seen some animosity toward non-public schooling by the "educational establishment," and it is very reassuring to see that these parts of Utah's education sector have not been ignored.
The system will take some time to get fully up and running, but for the next two academic years (AY 2011-12 and AY 2012-13) any public high school student can take two credits online. That option increases steadily until AY 2016-17, when it maxes out at 6 credits per student per year. Home and private school students can enter in year three (AY 2013-14) of the program. For Utah students, the program is covered by current state taxes. Students whose custodial parent isn't a Utah resident may enroll on a space-available basis by paying tuition.
Remember the famous New Yorker cartoon, "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog."? As with any Internet activity, there are (and should be) quality concerns. SB65-S establishes the Electronic High School (EHS) as the statewide oversight entity for this program starting with AY 2012-13. Local school districts and charter schools also have the option to create their own programs. As a public charter school, EHS will operate under the auspices of the Utah State Board of Education just like any other public school.
PCE also notes that, "Online course teachers are required to be certified by state law and are subject to the same qualifications as all Utah public school teachers." This won't be a state-run diploma mill, in fact, it might be harder that traditional schools, since there are neither in-class lectures nor attendance credit, "students . . . progress through course material at their own pace, and demonstrate competency when knowledge and skills have been mastered." As teenagers, most of us tried to pull a snow-job on a teacher more than once, and most of us probably got away with it a time or two. Go ahead, try that with a computer!
The program was designed with many goals in mind, including meeting the usual challenges of high school. PCE summarizes it better than I could:
This program will not affect a student's ability to participate in extra-curricular activities, co-curricular activities or released time for off campus religious classes. In fact, it may help provide greater flexibility in scheduling courses and released time at the student's high school because they will be taking online courses, freeing up more available class times. The student will still take the majority of their classes from their public high school. . . .
Online Course Providers are part of the public school system. All Providers are accredited education agencies. Successfully completed courses will provide full credit towards graduation and are part of the student's counselor led Student Education Occupation Plan (SEOP). . . .
A student can take additional courses to graduate early in accordance with their counselor led Student Education Occupation Plan (SEOP).
The SEOP and counselor will be integral parts of the program. The counselors will assist in the development of a written online educational plan; help complete a written Course Credit Agreement (necessary before a student can start course work) then provide direction as the student progresses through the plan and courses. The counselor will not dictate terms or courses; they will be much like traditional guidance counselors. Control rests with the student and his or her parents.
I see one possibility, which SB65-s does not address, but which might develop on its own – specialization. The Electronic High School won't be the sole course provider. As mentioned, public school districts and charter schools can also provide their own courses. Students are free to choose courses from any provider. Perhaps District X will choose to put their online resources into history and citizenship, District Y will focus on math and sciences, District Z will set their sights on English and literature. It is even more probable that the natural variations in talent distribution will give certain districts natural advantages in developing course work. These "expert" courses, for lack of a better descriptive, will naturally become more popular among the more serious students.
As in business, the high quality programs will rise to the top and the lesser quality programs will fall by the wayside. Competition will naturally guarantee (as best anything can be guaranteed) that Utah students will get the best education available.
Perhaps PCE or some other group will take on the challenge of rating the various programs and offering grades or some other independent evaluation for students and parents to view before choosing their online courses.
Of course, there are some subjects that, in my opinion, will never drift far into the cyber-world. Theater, music and other arts as well as foreign languages come to mind. These require personal attention at a level I think is still beyond our technology. However, the flexibility that online course give to more general subjects should allow students more time to focus on subjects that require personal attention. We already see specialized programs in Salt Lake County school districts because there is sufficient population in a small geographic area. Imagine the possibilities for larger counties with smaller populations – create an arts or language program that meets for a full day or two per week then lets the students work on other subjects at home.
Maybe that would work; maybe not – the point is possibilities. Our children are going to make very important decisions (like selecting our nursing homes), we need to prepare them in every way possible to make the best decisions. We need to prepare them to earn a living (so they don't end up living in our basements). We need to prepare them to be responsible, involved citizens that won't repeat our mistakes (or the ones we repeated from previous generations).
The Statewide Online Education Program will take time to develop. Mistakes will be made; we'll learn from those mistakes and adjust the program. In a very few years, however, I see Utah's students having a powerful new tool to prepare them for life. And, it wouldn’t surprise me if, by the time this experiment is pronounced a success, other new ideas will have come forward that might again revolutionize the education process. It's so exciting that it almost makes you want to try high school all over again, right?
Okay, maybe not that exciting.
Thanks for listening, tune in next week for another rant.
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