Despite concerns, NC House votes to let virtual charter schools stay open through 2027
North Carolina’s two popular but low-performing charter schools would be allowed to stay open for at least the next five years under legislation passed by the state House on Thursday.
The N.C. Virtual Academy and the North Carolina Cyber Academy only have state permission to stay open through the end of the 2022-23 school year. But under legislation approved in a 73-22 vote, they’d be granted charters through the 2026-27 school year, when they could seek renewal for up to 10 more years.
Supporters said extending the life of both schools will provide more educational options for North Carolina families.
“We’ve got to have opportunities for students to learn the way that fits them best, fits their family situation best,” said Rep. David Willis, a Union County Republican. “Not all kids are designed to be in a classroom sitting there for several hours a day in that same type of system we’ve had for 30 years.”
But some lawmakers questioned granting the schools permanent status.
“The best education in my opinion, humbly submitted, is an education you get when ... your backside is in the seat and the teacher is up front and you mix and mingle with your fellow students,” said Rep. Abe Jones, a Wake County Democrat. “You go on recess with your fellow students and you go to lunch with your fellow students and you go on teams with your fellow students, and this is not it.
“The idea of establishing this permanently this quickly troubles me greatly.”
Senate Bill 671 goes back to the Senate to see if it supports changes made by the House.
Schools have been low performing
Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools that are exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow. In addition to the brick-and-mortar charter schools, state lawmakers had required the State Board of Education to approve two virtual charters.
Both virtual schools opened in 2015 in what was originally supposed to be a four-year pilot program. The schools were labeled as low-performing by the state for each of their first four years. Grades weren’t given by the state in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the poor academic results of both schools, state lawmakers showed their support by extending the pilot to 2023. Leaders of the schools have argued that many of their students have come to them after struggling in traditional public schools.
Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican, spoke Thursday at the N.C. Virtual Academy’s graduation ceremony in Durham. It was the first time many students had met their classmates in-person.
“I got to talk with many of the parents and many of the graduates before the ceremony,” Saine said during Thursday’s House floor debate. “While it is not perfect yet by any measure, as we move forward in education it was really interesting to hear from those folks who are on the ground living it, learning it and being innovative in the process.”
Interest in both virtual charter schools soared during the pandemic. State lawmakers passed legislation in 2020 to let them exceed their state enrollment cap limits.
Under the new legislation, the state would end their pilot status. They’d instead become regular charters with five-year charters that they could seek renewal for in 2027 from the State Board of Education.
Rep. Jeffrey Elmore, a Wilkes County Republican, said the legislation would ensure that students can get access to a virtual option even if their county no longer provides one. School districts across the state have been phasing out the remote options they’ve offered during the pandemic.
Remote instruction
The rest of the bill deals with remote instruction. Provisions include:
▪ Allow schools to continue to use remote instruction for snow days and other emergencies.
▪ Allow schools that provided full-time remote instruction in the 2021-22 school year to continue to do so for the 2022-23 school year.
▪ Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, permit school districts to establish remote academies that meet certain requirements.
▪ Permit new and existing charter schools to apply to become remote academies.
Jones, the lawmaker, complained that the changes weren’t unveiled until Wednesday’s House Rules Committee meeting when lawmakers rewrote an unrelated education bill.
Elmore said that ideally they would have presented the items sooner. But he said time was short due to this short session, which lawmakers hope to end by July 1.
Elmore said the bill will build on what’s been learned about virtual instruction during the pandemic.
“What COVID has shown us is that the role of virtual education is going to be permanent from here on out with our educational offerings,” Elmore said. “Since that is true, we need to put some parameters around it to where we can ensure that the students are getting the best delivery of instruction as possible.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 10:44 AM.
