ANDERSON — An Indiana house bill that would require school districts to allow students to take specialized courses online at the district’s expense has met with resistance from some education leaders in Madison County.
“We could be starved out of the public school system,” said Randy Harrison, president of the Anderson Federation of Teachers. “It’s siphoning money away from schools that are screaming for money.”
State Rep. Tony Cook, R-Cicero, said he authored House Bill 1007 to allow students — especially those in more rural areas — to be able to take courses like advanced physics and calculus or those that seek industry certifications without leaving their schools.
However, school districts would be required to pay part of the costs up front and pay the remainder once the individual student has been shown to have met the predetermined educational standards.
“It definitely was spurred on by the fact that we have a lot of schools who can’t afford to hire a specialty teacher,” the vice chair of the House Education Committee said. “It’s kind of to broaden the horizons and possibilities for kids to take high-interest classes.”
HB1007 has had a first reading in the Senate and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development. The Senate has until April 12 to complete a third reading, which would allow the bill to advance.
The program also would help those between the ages of 23 and 36 who hope to enter the military but have not yet earned a high school diploma or GED, Cook said. They would be required to pay their own tuition.
“Right now, they can’t come into a regular high school when they’re 23 years old,” he said.
Cook said the bill is modeled on a program offered by the Central Indiana Service Center in Indianapolis. He added about 19,000 students take advantage of those programs.
The classes to which the requirements apply will be mostly advanced electives.
“That was done intentionally so that the student doesn’t just say, I don’t like the teacher, so I am going to take the class here,” the retired school superintendent said.
However, Cook said, there would be no limits on the number of credits a student could earn.
Fees would be negotiated by the Indiana Department of Education on a case-by-case basis because of variables such as field trips and lab costs, he said.
“A price that an industry might approve might have more material costs for the students,” he said.
Per-class fees would be billed against the student’s tuition paid by the state to his or her home district. However, homeschooled students, except for those receiving special education services, would be required to pay their own tuition for the online classes, Cook said.
Opponents said requiring districts to allow students to take classes with third-party vendors at the district’s expense could negatively impact enrollment, putting teachers’ jobs at risk.
However, Cook said he believes it actually will help keep enrollments steady because students will be less likely to take advantage of student choice and transfer to another district to take the classes they believe they need.
Local districts, including Anderson Community Schools, Alexandria Community Schools and Frankton-Lapel Community Schools, reported they already offer online courses for students who fall behind on credits.
Amanda McCammon, assistant superintendent at ACS, said the district already supplements face-to-face courses with online courses through a third party and allows 447 students to take online courses. In most instances, those courses are free to the student, and costs are absorbed by the district.
“We also offer students faced with unique situations, like those that are parenting or pregnant, to take online courses through a variety of online offerings. Decisions are made case by case, and always in the best interest of the student,” she said.
McCammon said the rigor of the coursework allowed under HB1007 also may come into question because school districts may not have the opportunity to ensure they meet local standards.
“All students learn differently, and simply because they may have the financial means to pay for online courses, does not mean that this will be the most beneficial way to deliver content to this particular student,” she said. “Where will the checks and balances be for this? How will schools know that the student is the one completing the work and earning the credit that they have paid for? This seems a bit like buying an 'A' for a course, simply because you can afford it.”
Fee payments also may pose problems for districts, she said.
“Additionally, this legislative language could put districts like ours into a sticky situation when it comes to being a good fiscal agent as we are currently under contract with these third-party vendors,” she said.
Alexandria superintendent Dr. Melissa Brisco said she also believes HB1007 is harmful to public education and to students.
“I have an objection to the entire bill," she said. "I hope that entrepreneurs and online content providers have the best interest of the student in mind and (are) not simply looking for new ways to make money off of the public education system.
“There is a place for online learning," she added. "However, not how it is described in this bill. What is described in this bill doesn't give me confidence that the quality of the programming is sufficient and that there is any accountability for mastery of content.”
Even though online programming in Alexandria is delivered through a third party, district officials “have full control of the content and monitor the student progress and completion of the courses,” she said.
In addition to credit recovery, Frankton-Lapel schools already allows students to take online classes when a particular course does not fit in a schedule, said Superintendent Bobby Fields.
“If we cannot provide the desired course, then I wouldn't have a problem,” he said.