INDIANAPOLIS — Legislation that would require high school students in Indiana to take at least one online course is meeting resistance from some school administrators who say they can’t afford any more mandates from the state.
The bill would require all public school students to take a “virtual instruction course” before graduating with a Core 40 diploma, beginning with the freshman class of 2013.
Each school corporation would be required to provide at least three virtual instruction courses in which a student can enroll.
Bill backers say it reflects a shift toward online learning that’s already under way in schools, but that needs to be accelerated to keep pace with a technology-drenched world.
“This is about what’s best for our kids,” said state Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City.
Banks agreed to carry the legislation at the request of state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett. Bennett, who pushed for major education reforms in the last session, said Indiana students need to be more tech-savvy to compete in a global economy.
But bill opponents argue the state’s financially strapped schools simply can’t afford it.
“It’s a mandate without full funding,” said Frank Bush, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association.
Bush joined a long line of skeptics who spoke against the bill during a House education committee hearing Monday. Most echoed his theme: They’re not against the concept of online learning, but they don’t want school districts to get stuck with the tab for it.
The legislation, which has already passed in the Senate, would require schools to tap into their existing funds for classroom instruction to pay for the online courses. It would forbid schools from charging students to take the online courses.
Just how much money it would cost schools to implement the legislation is critical to the debate.
The Legislative Services Agency, the nonpartisan research arm of the Indiana General Assembly, estimates the cost of an online course would be about $800 a student. LSA estimates the cost of a traditional classroom course is about $923 a student.
The Coalition of Growing and Suburban Schools — a new organization representing about 30 school corporations in Indiana — came out against the bill because of its costs.
Coalition member Denis Ward, superintendent of Danville Community School Corp., said the legislation would result in him having to lay off three classroom teachers to offer three online courses.
The bill got some support, though, from Chuck Little, executive director of the Indiana Urban Schools Association that represents 34 school districts.
Little said the legislation would benefit low-income students who, because they have no or little access to the Internet at home, lag behind in their technology skills.
Jeff Terp, a senior vice president at Ivy Tech Community College, also spoke in favor of the bill. He said online learning is on the rise on the college level. He said 80,000 Ivy Tech students around the state take at least one online class. That number is projected to grow to 200,000 as the college expands its online offerings.
“We’re becoming a virtual society,” Terp said. “We need to help our students understand that’s the way it is.”
John Keller, assistant superintendent for technology in the Indiana Department of Education, said the state’s K-12 schools are already shifting into the online world. He said by the 2014-2015 school year, all students will be taking the ISTEP standardized tests online. He also said a survey of the schools last year showed that almost 80 percent are offering some kind of online learning as part of their classroom instruction.
“In some ways,” Keller said, “the ship has already sailed.”
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