MONROE - A bipartisan compromise bill for virtual school education made it through education committees in both the Assembly and Senate Tuesday.
Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, one of the co-sponsors of the legislation and chairman of the Assembly education committee, said it passed by a 6-3 vote.
Davis called the votes "significant" and a "great step in a positive direction for over 3,000 students attending virtual schools in Wisconsin."
Davis said the votes show that virtual schools will continue for years to come in Wisconsin. It also proves, he said, that virtual school education is a nonpartisan issue in the Legislature.
The Senate's education committee, chaired by Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, passed the bill unanimously.
The bill requires:
• 1,050 hours a year of educational opportunities for a student with a maximum of 10 hours in a 24-hour period and at least 150 days of school a year.
• Licensed teachers for each course.
• Teachers to respond within 24 hours to a student or parent inquiry during the school week.
• An advisory board for the school that meets on a regular basis.
• Contact information for school board members, charter school board members, charter school advisory board members, district administration and teachers.
• At least 30 hours of staff development for teaching within two years.
There's no mention about funding or about enrollment in the bill, two points of contention in earlier competing bills on virtual schools, one co-authored by Davis and the other introduced by Lehman.
Davis said he hopes to work with his colleagues in the Assembly and Senate to see the bill passed and wants to work with Gov. Jim Doyle. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction supports the bill, Davis said.
Davis said he doesn't know when the bill will make it to both houses for a vote.
At a news conference in Madison on Thursday, Lehman said he hoped to see the bill passed by the Legislature by the end of February.
Virtual schools faced an uncertain future after an appeals court ruling in December ordered the state to stop funding the Wisconsin Virtual Academy, the state's largest virtual school.
The court said the school was operating in violation of teacher licensing, open enrollment and charter school laws. The same logic could be applied to all of the other virtual schools in the state.
Virtual schools allow students to learn from home under the guidance of their parents and instructors who teach over the Internet. They are popular with families who want their students to learn from home, but the schools are opposed by teachers' unions and critics who complain they drain money from traditional public schools.
The Monroe school district operates one of the 12 virtual schools in Wisconsin.
At a rally on the Capitol steps two weeks ago, advocates for virtual schools called on lawmakers to pass a Republican-backed bill that would rewrite those laws so the schools could remain open.
Quick action is needed, they said, because many open enrollment students must decide next month which schools they plan to attend next year.
Students, ranging in age from kindergarten through high school, arrived at the Capitol on buses from around the state. They wore green T-shirts reading: "Please don't close my virtual public school." Some carried signs that read: "Please don't leave this child behind."
Organizers said more than 1,100 people took part in the rally.
Davis and Lehman announced at a news conference Thursday they had reached a compromise regarding virtual schools.
Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, one of the co-sponsors of the legislation and chairman of the Assembly education committee, said it passed by a 6-3 vote.
Davis called the votes "significant" and a "great step in a positive direction for over 3,000 students attending virtual schools in Wisconsin."
Davis said the votes show that virtual schools will continue for years to come in Wisconsin. It also proves, he said, that virtual school education is a nonpartisan issue in the Legislature.
The Senate's education committee, chaired by Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, passed the bill unanimously.
The bill requires:
• 1,050 hours a year of educational opportunities for a student with a maximum of 10 hours in a 24-hour period and at least 150 days of school a year.
• Licensed teachers for each course.
• Teachers to respond within 24 hours to a student or parent inquiry during the school week.
• An advisory board for the school that meets on a regular basis.
• Contact information for school board members, charter school board members, charter school advisory board members, district administration and teachers.
• At least 30 hours of staff development for teaching within two years.
There's no mention about funding or about enrollment in the bill, two points of contention in earlier competing bills on virtual schools, one co-authored by Davis and the other introduced by Lehman.
Davis said he hopes to work with his colleagues in the Assembly and Senate to see the bill passed and wants to work with Gov. Jim Doyle. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction supports the bill, Davis said.
Davis said he doesn't know when the bill will make it to both houses for a vote.
At a news conference in Madison on Thursday, Lehman said he hoped to see the bill passed by the Legislature by the end of February.
Virtual schools faced an uncertain future after an appeals court ruling in December ordered the state to stop funding the Wisconsin Virtual Academy, the state's largest virtual school.
The court said the school was operating in violation of teacher licensing, open enrollment and charter school laws. The same logic could be applied to all of the other virtual schools in the state.
Virtual schools allow students to learn from home under the guidance of their parents and instructors who teach over the Internet. They are popular with families who want their students to learn from home, but the schools are opposed by teachers' unions and critics who complain they drain money from traditional public schools.
The Monroe school district operates one of the 12 virtual schools in Wisconsin.
At a rally on the Capitol steps two weeks ago, advocates for virtual schools called on lawmakers to pass a Republican-backed bill that would rewrite those laws so the schools could remain open.
Quick action is needed, they said, because many open enrollment students must decide next month which schools they plan to attend next year.
Students, ranging in age from kindergarten through high school, arrived at the Capitol on buses from around the state. They wore green T-shirts reading: "Please don't close my virtual public school." Some carried signs that read: "Please don't leave this child behind."
Organizers said more than 1,100 people took part in the rally.
Davis and Lehman announced at a news conference Thursday they had reached a compromise regarding virtual schools.