1.5 million families in the US homeschooled their children in 2007
my initial question - can the offering of virtual school leaning medium draw more homeschoolers into the public school realm.
The answer looks like yes and no - some will and some won't based on the reason they have decided to homeschool - whether it's because they want to school their children at home or more because they disagree with public school approaches, possibly because they don't like the curriculum, they don't want their children to have to take the WASL, they don't like the public school environment, or they want a more religious environment.
A more recent question - how often do educators guide students into virtual schools because the student has become a problem in the physical school? A high rate of referral for behavioral and academic problems might translate into high rate of at-risk kids in virtual schools.
Basic research question - what proportion of kids in virtual schools stay in school, drop out, do well?
Possible topic - "Some states are considering creating a common definition of “completion rate” or “retention rate,” which would be particularly useful for funding purposes, but currently the majority of providers self-define their completion rates."97 (p. 9, http://leg.wa.gov/documents/Senate/SCS/edu/WAOnlineLearningPoliciesAndPrograms.pdf)
Possible topic (from Senate brief) - "Currently, Washington State has relatively few laws regulating online learning, leaving much deference to local school districts. The Legislature may want to consider whether providing opportunities for online learning should be left in the hands of individual districts or whether the State ought to take a more involved approach appointing funding for online courses, digital resources, student lap tops, and the like."
- district, virtual school, and parent/student accountability to tax payers for the online courses they subscribe to, offer, or take
- promotion of more opportunities for online learning through increased state involvement
