The 2011-2012 school year has been a big one for online learning in the U.S. Many local and statewide virtual schools have launched or expanded. Online learning requirements have been enacted in a number of states. And the political rhetoric related to the virtual schooling phenomenon is heating up. Here's a look at some of the recent news about virtual learning:

Virtual Schools Expand

One of the most dramatic (and controversial) advancements in online learning in the past few years has been the proliferation of virtual alternatives to public schools, typically in the form of state-funded charter schools. The majority of participating students enroll in one or two classes for "credit recovery" (retaking classes they have failed) or to supplement the classes offered at their local school, but virtual schooling as a complete alternative to the brick-and-mortar school is becoming increasingly common, as well. While the number of students enrolled full-time in a virtual school is still small—about 250,000 students according to one source—the National Education Policy Center reports that as many as 27 states do offer a full-time option for those who choose it.

Recent signs of virtual school growth include:

• At the start of the 2011-12 school year, the one-year-old Indiana Connections Academy (INCA) added kindergarten and a high school program to its existing grades, offering K-12 students from anywhere in the state a tuition-free virtual education. [Indiana Department of Education Authorizes Major Expansion for Connections Academy Statewide Virtual School]

• Tennessee's Virtual Academy opened this fall with online classes for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. Using the curriculum of K12 Inc., who provides online school curriculum to over 70,000 students in 21 states, the academy is currently serving over 1,000 students and has plans to add grades 9-12 soon. [Editorial: Virtual Academy is a welcome innovation for state's students]

• Alabama's ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, & Students Statewide) program—reportedly the third-largest state virtual school in the country—offers courses that are supplemental to those offered by the school districts. The school enrolled approximately 30,000 students in credit courses for the 2010-2011 school year, with another 12,000 students enrolled in noncredit courses. [Liberating Learning: Technology, Politics and American Education]

• The Washington Online School in Utah (WOSU or Wash Online) is hosted by the Washington County School District but open to any K-12 student living in the state of Utah. Currently the high school students can enroll in up to two classes to replaces ones they would normally take at their high school and that limit will expand to three classes in the 2012-13 school year and four in 2013-14. [Online program is asset to education]

• The Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield entered its second year, with approximately 110 students from throughout the state and a new grade—the state voted to allow last year's 8th grade students to continue in grade 9. [Massachusetts Virtual School update]

• Chicago's Virtual Charter High School, which opened in 2006, now enrolls more than 550 students in grades K-12 and is considering an expansion, with new courses to be offered by K12, Inc. [CPS mulls deal to expand virtual education]

Mandates and Arguments

Not surprisingly, in this era of political polarization, two camps are forming when it comes to the pros and cons of virtual schooling. What has been causing a real stir—and heating up the rhetoric even further—is the move by several states to mandate some form of online schooling for their high school students. Some examples include:

• In 2008, the Alabama state board of education passed a rule requiring all high school students to "complete one online/technology enhanced course" as a prerequisite for graduation. [Alabama high school online experience graduation requirements]

• Michigan's state legislature has mandated that every student must take an online course or have an extensive "online learning experience" before graduating from high school. [Michigan Merit Curriculum]

• In Florida, starting with this year's ninth graders, every high schooler in the state must take an online class to graduate. [Virtual Schools Expand Students' Network]

• In Idaho, state officials recently voted to require high school students to take at least two credits online in order to graduate. [Idaho Online Class Requirement for High School Graduation Gets Board Approval]

Follow the links to the articles used as sources for this update and you will find some strong views expressed about the possibilities and perils offered by online schools. Critics such as those cited in the New York Times article, More Pupils Are Learning Online, Fueling Debate Over Quality, or in Newsleader.com's Virtual Schools Expand Territory, charge that supporters of virtual schooling are motivated by politics (some of the most vocal support for online schools has come from conservative politicians who are supportive of charter schools, in general), profit motives, and the desire to cut spending on teacher salaries and school buildings. They ask for proof that virtual schools are effective. Proponents of online schools—including parents with students thriving in virtual environments—cite benefits ranging from much-needed support for individual student needs to the motivation that comes from learning at one's own pace, with help from technology.

Setting Policy

The National Education Policy Center's October 2012 publication, Online K-12 Schooling in the U.S.: Uncertain Private Ventures in Need of Public Regulation, addresses many of the controversies raised in this article and focuses on the lack of regulation as a major danger. According to the report:

Virtual schools operating under charters issued by states are growing at accelerating rates. In fact, it seems that regulation and oversight of these entities are lacking in precisely those locations where growth is fastest. Legislators must address a full agenda of issues if the public trust in public education is to be maintained.

NEPC recommends that special attention be paid to regulating the following:

• Authentication of the Source of Students' Work: Establishing methods for preventing plagiarism and ensuring that students do their own work—especially when it comes to exams or other work involved in obtaining credit for a class.

• Fiscal and Instructional Regulation: Addressing such complex issues as the level and extent of teacher involvement in the instructional process, the certification status of teachers employed by virtual schools, and how accounting practices used to fund conventional schools apply to virtual school funding.

• Audits: Determining actual costs incurred by private providers of virtual schooling, ensuring that savings are passed on to the state, and building in incentives to provide high quality as well as an efficient education.

• Accreditation: The establishment of trusted public entities to accredit providers of K-12 courses and full-time K-12 programs.

Other organizations, including advocates such as the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), are in agreement about the importance of research, standards and policy-setting with regard to online learning. In a recent Viewpoint, iNACOL CEO, Susan Patrick, and iNACOL chair, Tom Vander, recommend the establishment of statewide "authorizers" charged with reviewing, monitoring and approving quality statewide learning options—as well as refusing to renew underperforming operators. In the end, they hope that all the attention being paid to virtual schooling from fans and critics alike will lead to a new level of oversight that "ensures all students have access to world-class education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success."