LANSING – After more than two hours of testimony Wednesday that has followed weeks of deliberation, Rep. Tom McMillin, House Education Committee chair, said he thinks a vote is likely next week on SB 619 , which removes the cap on cyberschools in Michigan.

The committee continued its testimony after running through the 90 allotted minutes and moved the hearing to another room where testimony continued for another hour.

Peter Groff, the former director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education, said in his time working for the Obama administration, he found cyberschools worked for many students.

“High-quality cyberschools are benefiting students across this country in a variety of ways,” Groff said. “They are driving achievement and preparing students for college and a career.”

He did say cyberschools don’t work for every student, but for example, for students who may have been bullied or have special needs, cyberschools can provide a lifeline.

“I hope that you will offer that lifeline to Michigan’s students and parents,” he said.

Rep. Douglas Geiss (D-Taylor) asked how children could succeed in a cyberschool if their parents don’t have the educational abilities to coach their children at home.

Groff said they could attend a charter school, but Geiss said some parents don’t have vehicles and not all charters offer transportation.

During the state’s application for federal “Race to the Top” funding in 2009, Michigan permitted two cyberschools to open with a maximum enrollment of 1,000 – mainly targeted at dropouts.

SB 619 would remove the cap on the number of students the two cyberschools in the state could enroll, as well as removing the restriction of having only two of the schools.

The bill would also expand the types of cyberschools that could be opened, removing the requirement that they offer all grades and looking for operators that have demonstrated improving academic achievement, not just working with urban and at-risk students.

Critics have continued to urge that the state should wait until the two cyberschools have been in place for two years to study how effective they are before opening the floodgates. The Department of Education and the Board of Education share the same concern.

John Chandler, superintendent of Manistee Area Public Schools, said he supports the bill with changes. His district operates an online academy and he wants to make sure the law would not leave schools like his behind.

Chandler said while the bill removes the cap on the number of students a cyberschool can have, current law still limits an online academy like his to just 25 percent of the district’s enrollment.

He asked the committee to give traditional schools the same right to innovate it is about to give charters.

Chandler also noted that cyberschools are non-union and so he asked that staffing, pay and union membership of all employees of online programs at traditional public schools be prohibited subjects of bargaining for at least five years.

Debbie Squires, with the Michigan Elementary and Secondary Principals Association, spoke in opposition the bill. She drew quite a reaction when speaking about the importance of leaving decisions about cyber-learning up to local districts.

“Educators go through education for a reason. They are the people who know best about how to serve children. That’s not necessarily true of an individual resident,” she said. “I’m not saying they don’t want the best for their children, but they may not know what actually is best from an education standpoint.”

“Wow,” McMillin said. “Parents don’t know what is best for their child?”

After the meeting, McMillin, who is not known for holding his tongue, said he was surprised he didn’t lose it when Squires spoke.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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