Insight School of Oklahoma fighting again to stop changes in alternative education rules

For the second time in four months, leaders of Insight School of Oklahoma, which bills itself as Oklahoma’s only alternative online school, fear a potential action by the state — this time, a bill that sailed through the House Education Committee last week — could effectively close their doors.

The bill by Rep. Danny Sterling, House Bill 3551, contains language that would require alternative education to be in-person and would prohibit eligibility for alternative education state funding if that requirement isn’t met.

That language is similar to wording in an administrative rule proposed late last year by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. After a public hearing that included emotional testimony from Insight supporters, the state Board of Education amended the proposal to remove the language.

That decision apparently didn’t end the debate. Sterling’s bill received no opposition in the committee and now can be considered by the full House. Over in the Oklahoma Senate, however, is a bill by Sen. Kristin Thompson, R-Edmond, that seems to encourage alternative online education and says “(a) school district may implement an alternative education program using a full-time virtual education program or blended instruction.” Her bill passed the Senate Education Committee.

Longtime teacher, now a lawmaker, sees a difference between alternative settings and alternative education

Sterling, R-Tecumseh, worked for Tecumseh Public Schools for 40 years, teaching agriculture and serving as both an assistant principal and principal at Tecumseh High School. He told The Oklahoman he doesn’t see how what he believes is true alternative education can work in an online-only setting, especially when it comes to counseling services the law mandates must be provided to students.

“You’ve got to meet alternative students where they’re at,” he said. “If they don’t have that one-on-one contact with a teacher … that teacher can detect on a daily basis (if) somebody is having a bad day and needs some individual counseling, or somebody needs some more support.

He also noted Insight, one of the state’s larger alternative schools, with about 1,150 students in grades 6-12, gobbles up a large share of funding the state allocates for alternative education, “to the tune of about $1.5 million.” He argues what online schools provide is an alternative setting, but not an alternative education as defined by law. He said the current rules, approved by the state Board of Education, blur the line between alternative settings and alternative education.

“By definition, alternative education is … people that are at-risk, that have problems at home, if they have a home,” Sterling said. “They might be a young mother that’s unwed. They might have some mental health issues. They might just, because of economic reasons, need to work. I think a lot of confusion comes when people hear ‘alternative,’ they get confused between alternative settings and alternative true education. Alternative education, by definition, was designed for at-risk students.”

Thompson said her bill recognizes the need for alternative forms of education. She spoke at a recent school-choice event held at the Oklahoma History Center.

“I support options in education because everyone has a unique lived experience,” she said. “We need to ensure everyone is graduating with the educational foundation to transition to college, CareerTech and the workforce, and SB 1895 assists in that goal.”

She said she doesn’t comment on legislation other than her own, but said if Sterling’s bill “makes it to the Senate, I will review it as it makes its way through the process.”

Insight School successfully convinced state board to change its proposed alternative education rules in November

Insight leaders have said the public, tuition-free school serves students in unique situations, including teen parents, students recovering from addiction, students who have been expelled from other schools, students with special needs and students with jobs who require flexible schedules.

Insight said it’s the only alternative education virtual charter school recognized by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Currently, 10 states have some sort of alternative online school, said Jennifer Wilkinson, Insight’s head of school.

In November, Insight supporters noted state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters’ push for more educational choices and successfully argued that Insight is unique in providing such a choice, often for those students who have exhausted other options, including in-person alternative schools.

One parent who chose Insight is Miranda Randol-Rossouw, of Shidler, who said her son’s academic performance dramatically improved after the switch from in-person school — where he was bullied — to Insight during his sixth-grade year. He’s now in eighth grade and thriving, she said.

“Insight has small classrooms so they have more one-on-one with their teachers,” she said. “That’s more of what those kids need and what they crave. They have more of a family type atmosphere. They love their teachers. (Teachers) will stop everything to help that one child. It doesn’t matter how long it takes them, or if they have to go even later. My son’s teachers have actually called him at night” to see if he’s gotten work done or needs help on an assignment. “I don’t know many (teachers) that will do that.”

She said Sterling’s bill “is threatening our students who need our school, who need that specialized education that any other school that is not geared for IEPs, or children with special needs, who need that one-on-one, that smaller classroom, who have anxiety disorders, who have ADHD. If that bill were to pass, it would start shoving down our kids that have these special needs. It’s going to start shoving them down and (say), ‘We don’t care about your education. I don’t care if you don’t have this. I don’t care if you don’t have that.’ That’s not right. Let’s lift up these kids. Let’s help these kids.”

Insight does have an office in a strip mall in Midwest City, from which it has served students in all 77 Oklahoma counties since the school opened in 2014. Wilkinson said Insight expects to graduate 183 students at the end of the current academic year.

Insight’s website indicates its curriculum is provided by K12 — a for-profit education company that provides programs for both online and blended education — and includes offerings from Stride Learning Solutions and Middlebury Interactive Languages.

“Insight’s virtual model provides hope and opportunity for at-risk students who were unable to reach their goals in traditional public schools,” Wilkinson said. “We ask legislative leaders to defend Oklahoma parents’ right to make the best educational choices for their families, rather than locking students into the traditional model. We hope lawmakers will reject HB 3551 and protect school choice in Oklahoma.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Alternative online school fighting state's proposed rule change again