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An Evaluation: | |
Virtual Charter Schools | |
Department of Public Instruction | |
February 2010 | |
Report Highlights | |
Virtual charter schools are publicly funded nonsectarian schools that are
exempt from many regulations that apply to traditional public schools
and that offer the majority of their classes online. They began operating
in Wisconsin during the A Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruling in December 2007 prevented the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) from providing state aid payments to a virtual charter school through the open enrollment program, which allows pupils to attend public schools outside of their school districts of residence. 2007 Wisconsin Act 222, which was enacted to address concerns raised in the lawsuit, also required us to address a number of topics related to virtual charter schools. Therefore, we evaluated:
Full-time Enrollment
The number of virtual charter
schools in Wisconsin increased
from 4 schools operating in 3 school
districts during the
Full-time enrollment in virtual
charter schools increased from
265 pupils in the
In the
Revenue and Expenditures
Virtual charter schools are funded
by a mix of federal charter school
grants; fees; general district
revenue, including property tax
revenue; and state aid, which
represented
Virtual charter schools spent an
estimated
Five large virtual charter schools
engaged four principal contractors
to provide online curriculum
materials, computers and Internet
subsidies for pupils, and assistance
with administrative operations.
Their payments to these contractors
totaled
Chartering districts have a financial
incentive to attract additional pupils
through open enrollment. For
example, in the
Teaching in Virtual Charter Schools
We reviewed licensing data to
ensure that all virtual charter school
teachers were properly licensed to
teach in the
Since
Academic Achievement
The Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination is administered each year in public schools, including virtual charter schools, to pupils in grades 3 through 8 and grade 10.
We analyzed test scores for
the three-year period from
2005-06 through
Future Considerations
2007 Wisconsin Act 222 limits
the number of full-time pupils
who may attend virtual charter
schools through open enrollment
to In response to our survey, parents and guardians, teachers, and high school pupils reported widespread satisfaction with their virtual charter schools. Our report includes a number of recommendations for DPI to provide information that can inform continued legislative debate about the program’s size and scope, and enhance compliance with program rules.
Recommendations
We include recommendations for DPI to:
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