A North Carolina Appeals Court turned down K12, the publicly traded corporation that operates virtual charters.
It wanted to open a virtual charter in the state, but the State Board of Education did not act on its request, so it was denied.
K12 sued, and for now, has lost.
When the Legislature goes back into session, we will see whether the rejection sticks.
K12 has a history of astute lobbying and strategic political contributions.
K12 gets very poor marks from researchers and poor results, but that never stands in the way of its expansion.
Besides, the expansion of online charters is a priority for ALEC.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
They have a former member of the NC legislature as a lobbyist a current member of the NC legislature as their lawyer:
“Jeff Barnhart, a lobbyist for K12 at the Raleigh-based McGuire Woods lobbying firm, declined to comment on the proposed committee substitution.
“I really have no comment,” he said.
Barnhart stepped down from his legislative seat representing Cabarrus County in 2011 and has since gone before the Cabarrus County School Board to lobby for K12 in 2011 and 2012, when the school board decided to back the company’s bid for a statewide charter school in exchange for the school district getting a cut of the virtual school’s funding.
State Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, a Concord Republican, has been representing N.C. Learns,
the non-profit group set up by K12 to apply for the school, in legal proceedings.”
In 5 years North Carolina’s legislature will be as captured by for-profit reform groups as Ohio’s legislature is currently.
Do they set up the non-profit shell to get around state law, or does North Carolina permit for-profits? I’m wondering if they’re now completely circumventing state law barring for-profits with this “non-profit shell” mechanism.
– See more at: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2013/05/09/k12-makes-push-for-n-c-school-market/#sthash.k3etoR3R.dpuf
“In 5 years North Carolina’s legislature will be as captured by for-profit reform groups as Ohio’s legislature is currently.”
It depends on who is in office. “Election day. . .who you gonna vote for?” (I quote, Wyclef Jean)
Sarcasm alert: Why not make all schools in North Carolina virtual? The state could save billions on aging infrastructures, transportation costs, free and reduced meals, ad nauseum. There would be no need for qualified teachers, pensions or benefits. Students wouldn’t have to learn to get along with others and fresh air recess would be optional. Virtual proms! The possibilities are endless. It’s really a NO BRAINER.
Especially, if the “learning center” is at the student’s home. Hell, a computer or two, a few skin and eye monitors, maybe even a video function to ensure the “student” is at the computer.
Duane,
Is yours an objection to on line classes in general or just those offered by K-12? If it is the former, you might want to take a look at a site called Art of Problem Solving (http://www.artofproblemsolving.com). Even though most of the staff is unqualified to teach in public schools, it seems like a good example of high quality virtual teaching for students who might not otherwise get access to an appropriate curriculum.
K-12 provides classes to some of the public school districts in my state. They provide students opportunities that the students would not have without the ability to teach students that are thin on the ground.
I don’t understand this sentence.
Many high schools in my state have no AP classes because they only have a couple of students that can benefit from classes at that level. Some form of distance learning must be used if these students are to get an education that matches their individual goals and talents.
I agree with you.
However, I don’t think that needs to be implemented by a for-profit company, necessarily. Maybe a contract with the districts (if that’s what you mean).
But I do agree that some use of technology can help create equity across districts. That notion is not in and of itself bad and shoudl not be perceived as a threat towards public schools. I wouldn’t mind if I had one online class, as a high schooler, if it meant having one I would not otherwise be able to take; so log as not all of my classes were online.
I agree that it does not necessarily need to be with a for profit company, but K-12 is a company that several local school boards have contracted with to provide some classes.
K-12 has some of the worst school statistics in my whole state–worse than the worse schools. If it were a traditional public school, it would be in program improvement. And they are growing at an alarming rate. http://nepc.colorado.edu/files/nepc-virtual-2013-section-1-2.pdf
Well, it’s nice to see some GOOD news for a change, especially from NC!
Keep ’em out, like 18 school districts did in Illinois.
“Mommie, when I grow up I want to be a K-12 franchisee not a teacher like you.”
This is TOO funny and SAD. Thanks for the laugh, Duane.
The point, here, is that our Appeals court is doing the right thing! Bravo!!!
They are a good group of folks; they took time out of their Saturdays to come and meet and mingle and speak with and to teachers from across the state who came to an all day Saturday meeting sponsored by NCAE about the legal matters in recent changes to public education. They did not have to do that. They were personable, professional, informative and strong in their support of our public schools in NC.
I was very impressed with them. Very impressed. And they all had a personal connection to public school (they went there, their kids attend public school, their spouses teacher, their mothers taught, etc.)
I was very proud of them that day and I am very proud of them here! This is the NC I know and love.
of course I do know that their job is to determine if things are constitutional or not, not impose their will. But I am glad they recognize that the constitution of NC does not contain language that would allow for this type of pursuit, at the expense of public school. It says that the state will maintain a “general and uniform system of free public schools.”
Ha, ha, Joanne…send those Appeals Court folks over our way–to Illinois. Our legislators here don’t read the Illinois Constitution and, therefore, don’t know what it says. (Or else they need reading comprehension remediation–but they’re gutting special ed. here in Illinois, too.)
Just like they didn’t read a 325-327 page proposed bill (or read &–again–didn’t comprehend its content) that came out less than 24 hours before a crucial vote, one that would gut the pensions of public workers (including all Illinois’ educators outside the city of Chicago–and make no mistake–they’re next!)
Welcome to Illinois, TFA, our government wants to hire on the cheap, and they’re open for business.
Business…NOT children.
Dr. Ravitch – I’ve read your books and your blog and admire you very much. The point of view of an educational historian is the missing piece in much of our educational dialogue. I am a former public school teacher, now a parent of a K12 student and I’d love to chime in on some of the assumptions about online education. We bought a home with the intention of sending our children to the good neighborhood school nearby, but found that by the time our daughter would start kindergarten, the school had been decimated by charters. None of our neighbors’ children attend there. It has been turned into a test prep facility for those who are not passing state tests. The teachers are still excellent, but have their hands tied. We chose K12 because our daughter is able to take courses at different grade levels (on grade level in math and one grade level ahead in language arts). She learns at home and the curricula is excellent – nothing like that described by the Aventa teacher. Our daughter has been attending a K12 school since kindergarten and does NOT lack social interaction. The children in primary grades spend most of their time offline, while the online program provides lessons plans to the parents. She finishes her schoolwork by noon, and spends afternoons in group settings like science classes at the zoo, gymnastics classes, tennis lessons, or just playing with other kids. We are also part of a co-op. She completes her science, music, art and history classes in small classes of 8-12 children who know how to behave properly and are able to have rich discussions about fascinating topics. Our neighborhood school doesn’t offer all of these courses – K12 does and they are fantastic. I realize that we might not represent the majority of K12 families, but nonetheless, we do exist and there are other families like us.
Jerry J., I am sure that K12 appreciates your endorsement. But I hope you understand that the corporation is one of the powerful forces trying to destroy public education. It is not a philanthropic venture. The CEO made $5 million a year the last time I looked. Why don’t you fight to reclaim public education instead of joining the venture vultures?
That’s a fair criticism and something our family has been discussing at length since reading your books. We’re still stuck with the problem of how to educate our children when the neighborhood schools don’t meet their needs and will likely kill the joy of learning – again, not blaming the teachers, just the focus on test prep required by current administration. This is something we’re communicating to our legislators. Until something changes, the K12 courses are the best available to us. Thanks for reading my comment.
Hi everyone,
I’d like to share a talk I recently gave to the School Board of Palm Beach County, FL about the excessive testing going on in our public schools and who is profiting by it.