Oregon Legislators Looking At Virtual Learning

Right now in the state of Oregon, once a school district has 3% or more of its students enrolled in a virtual public charter school outside the district, it can generally start denying requests. In the state of Oregon, Allison Galvin who is the executive director at Oregon Charter Academy, said there are about 22 virtual public charter schools.

School districts get thousands of dollars for each student which helps funding for public schools and is the main reason the 3% cap came into existence. While public schools rely on that money, some parents say the cap takes away parent choice. Those in support of keeping the cap in place, cite lower graduation rates and “poor educational quality” associated with virtual public charter schools. 

In a statement, Oregon Education Association president, Reed Scott-Schwalbach wrote in part, “…raising the virtual enrollment cap also creates incredible instability in our state’s ability to guarantee the resources our students need to thrive for Oregon’s public school system.”

Data provided to the media by Oregon Charter Academy shows six out of a list of 16 virtual public charter schools had four-year graduation rates that were above the state’s graduation rate of 80.6%. A couple of virtual charter schools fell into each of the 70%, 60%, 50%, 40% and 20% ranges.

The 3% cap came into effect more than a decade ago. Galvin said it is obsolete because technology and the pandemic have changed online learning.

“We hear from families, multiple families a week honestly, about being denied,” said Todd Schweitzer, executive director of Frontier Charter Academy.

Schweitzer and Galvin say students in one district may not have the same choice as students in another. “Those are the unintended consequences is that we have created inequitable academic experiences for students in the state,” Galvin said.

The summary for this bill reads, “The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the measure as introduced. Removes requirement that student must receive approval from resident school district before enrolling in virtual public charter school not sponsored by school district if specified percentage of students in school district already are enrolled in virtual public charter schools not sponsored by school district. Removes requirement that school district that does not give approval for enrollment in virtual public charter school not sponsored by school district provide information about other online options available to students.