Virtual Schools: Finance and Accountability

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Agenda What are virtual schools? How are Virtual Schools funded? 50-State Review Performance-Based Funding Hybrid Funding Models Completion-Based Funding Models Competency-Based Funding Models Questions

At least 32 states and the District of Columbia allow for the operation of multi-district virtual schools. In the 2014-15 school year, 2.24% of Ohio’s student population attended a computer-based community school. This translates to 39,044 students, the third highest enrollment nationwide.

What are virtual schools? Virtual schools operate differently from state to state. Single statewide entity Multiple state-approved providers Multi-district, or single-district programs Single statewide—Florida Multiple—Ohio and Oklahoma District-Approved– Wisconsin

How are virtual schools funded in the states? 6 Policy Buckets to categorize state funding Performance-Based Hybrid Equivalent Diminished rate General Allocation District-determined

50-State Review Performance-based—6 states—Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Texas, Utah

Performance-Based Performance-based—6 states—Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Texas, Utah

Hybrid

Equivalent

General Allocation

Diminished Rate

District-Determined

Performance-Based Funding “Performance-based funding is a catch-all phrase in public budgeting circles that relates to a number of different models that determine funding levels on the basis of one or more measures of an organization’s performance. Completion-based funding is one type of performance-based funding system. The term completion-based funding is more common in K12 systems…” (Miller et al., 2016)

Hybrid A combination of performance-based funding and funding equivalent to charter schools Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Wyoming

Examples of Hybrid Funding Models Mississippi Wyoming

Completion-Based Funding Most common form of performance-based funding Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Utah How is completion determined? End-of-course exams or credit award

Examples of Completion-Based Funding Florida Utah

Competency-Based Funding Only one state currently utilizes a degree of competency-based funding for virtual schools New Hampshire Virtual Learning Academy Charter School How does it work?

Sources and Additional Resources NCSL Miller, L., Just, M., & Cho, J. (2016). Low-stakes completion- based funding: What can we learn from the school that invented it? Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Center for Innovation in Education. Patrick, S., Myers, J., Silverstein, J., Brown, A., Watson, J. (2015). Performance-based Funding & Online Learning: Maximizing Resources for Student Success, International Association for K–12 Online Learning. Pazhouh, R., Lake, R., & Miller, L. (2015). The Policy Framework for Online Charter Schools, Center for Reinventing Public Education. Education Commission of the States, “50-State Comparison: Charter School Policies”.

Benjamin Erwin Research Analyst Benjamin.erwin@ncsl.org Direct line: (303) 856-1362