By Ryan Quinn Staff, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — National charter school groups say the charter school bill that flew through the West Virginia House of Delegates lacks sufficient regulation of charter schools, especially online ones, and could discriminate against special education students.
“The bill includes a cap for virtual schools of approximately 28,000 students/year, a number far too high to manage or ensure quality,” the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools said in a statement. “The West Virginia Senate should incorporate caps allowing a virtual school to grow only after it has demonstrated agreed-upon levels of student performance.”
The House passed the legislation, House Bill 2012, a week ago. Passage came just days into this year’s legislative session.
The Senate Education Committee has put the bill on its agenda for 2 p.m. Tuesday. You can listen online to the meeting on the Legislature’s website.
House Bill 2012 would legalize fully online charter schools in the state — an attempt to overturn the West Virginia Board of Education’s current ban on them…
