The Virtual Education Blog

We are on a Roll! HOUSE BILL 1219 Now CHAPTER NUMBER: 288 EMERGENCY BILL

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:32:48 +0000

Primary and Secondary Education - Online Courses and Services - Development or Review and Approval (Delegate Boteler, et al./Senator Rosapeppe) This emergency bill authorizes a local board of education to request that the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) develop or review and approve online courses and services. MSDE may delegate this responsibility to a local board of education. If MSDE delegates this authority to a local board, the local board must request approval of the online course from MSDE once it has completed the development or the review and approval. A local board may impose reasonable fees to be paid by the vendor to cover the cost of reviewing and approving online courses and services and must remit 15% of the fees collected to MSDE. The State Board of Education may set reasonable fees for developing or reviewing online courses and services and for processing approvals for online courses and services.
Chapter 288

WooHooo!!! House Bill 745 is now Chapter Number 291!

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:24:27 +0000

Entitled:
Education - Maryland Advisory Council for Virtual Learning - Establishment

Synopsis:

Establishing the Maryland Advisory Council for Virtual Learning within the Department of Education; requiring the Department to provide staff for the Council; establishing the mission of the Council; identifying the membership of the Council; establishing the membership term; requiring the State Superintendent or the Governor to appoint a member in the event of a vacancy; requiring the Council members to elect the Council chair; etc.
Chapter 291

Maryland Policy Report

admin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:51:26 +0000

Expanding Access to Online Learning options for Maryland Students by Lindsey M. Burke Click Here for Article

admin — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:33:41 +0000

Partially-Elected School Board Proposal Emerges from ‘Informal Discussion’
Draft proposal to reduce school board, include seven elected and two appointed members.

By Bryan P. Sears click here

It’s an historic time for Baltimore County’s families.

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:18:31 +0000

Should our Board of Education continue to be appointed by the governor of Maryland as are 3 counties and Baltimore City or should we be able to elect those who sit on the Board of Education and make decisions that impact our children’s entire future?

Twenty one counties have an elected or hybrid (partially elected, partially appointed) Board of Education. Our opinions are wanted and our voices can make a difference.

Please commit to attending at least one of the 3 meetings where we can let the Task Force know that we want a more responsive Board of Education- one chosen by those who are impacted by every yea or nay vote made rather than one chosen by a very busy governor who cannot have the time to know the needs of one particular county!
times and locations:

Time: 6:30-8:00 PM
July 6th at Reisterstown Library
July 7th at Essex Library
July 25th at Towson Library
Written testimony can also be sent to the task force to Kathy Klausmeier at katherine.klausmeier@senate.state.md.us or via Bobby Zirkin at Bobby.Zirkin@senate.state.md.us

Thanks!!!!

I Am Not Socially Awkward

admin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:20:43 +0000

I Am Not Socially Awkward

Maryland General Assembly email addresses of all the Senators and Delegates

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:57:17 +0000

2011 Maryland General Assembly Email List of all the legislators
written by Delegate Jill Carter
Senate

john.astle@senate.state.md.us; joanne.benson@senate.state.md.us; david.brinkley@senate.state.md.us; jim.brochin@senate.state.md.us; richard.colburn@senate.state.md.us; joan.carter.conway@senate.state.md.us; ulysses.currie@senate.state.md.us; james.degrange@senate.state.md.us; roy.dyson@senate.state.md.us; george.edwards@senate.state.md.us; bill.ferguson@senate.state.md.us; jennie.forehand@senate.state.md.us; brian.frosh@senate.state.md.us; rob.garagiola@senate.state.md.us; joseph.getty@senate.state.md.us; lisa.gladden@senate.state.md.us; barry.glassman@senate.state.md.us; nancy@nancyjacobs.com; j.b.jennings@senate.state.md.us; verna.jones@senate.state.md.us; edward.kasemeyer@senate.state.md.us; delores.kelley@senate.state.md.us; nancy.king@senate.state.md.us; allan.kittleman@senate.state.md.us; katherine.klausmeier@senate.state.md.us; richard.madaleno@senate.state.md.us; roger.manno@senate.state.md.us; james.mathias@senate.state.md.us; nathaniel.mcfadden@senate.state.md.us; thomas.mclain.middleton@senate.state.md.us; thomas.v.mike.miller@senate.state.md.us; karen.montgomery@senate.state.md.us; anthony.muse@senate.state.md.us; douglas.peters@senate.state.md.us; paul.pinsky@senate.state.md.us; ej.pipkin@senate.state.md.us; catherine.pugh@senate.state.md.us; victor.ramirez@senate.state.md.us; jamie.raskin@senate.state.md.us; edward.reilly@senate.state.md.us; james.robey@senate.state.md.us; jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us; christopher.shank@senate.state.md.us; bryan.simonaire@senate.state.md.us; norman.stone@senate.state.md.us; ronald.young@senate.state.md.us; bobby.zirkin@senate.state.md.us;

House of Delegates

kathy.afzali@house.state.md.us; tiffany.alston@house.state.md.us; curt.anderson@house.state.md.us; sam.arora@house.state.md.us; susan.aumann@house.state.md.us; charles.barkley@house.state.md.us; ben.barnes@house.state.md.us; kumar.barve@house.state.md.us; kumar@kumarbarve.com; gail.bates@house.state.md.us; pamela.beidle@house.state.md.us; wendell.beitzel@house.state.md.us; elizabeth.bobo@house.state.md.us; john.bohanan@house.state.md.us; joseph.boteler@house.state.md.us; talmadge.branch@house.state.md.us; aisha.braveboy@house.state.md.us; eric.bromwell@house.state.md.us; emmett.burns@house.state.md.us; michael.busch@house.state.md.us; rudolph.cane@house.state.md.us; jon.cardin@house.state.md.us; alfred.carr@house.state.md.us; jill.carter@house.state.md.us; galen.clagett@house.state.md.us; luke.clippinger@house.state.md.us; john.cluster@house.state.md.us; frank.conaway@house.state.md.us; norman.conway@house.state.md.us; robert.costa@house.state.md.us; bonnie.cullison@house.state.md.us; dereck.davis@house.state.md.us; steven.deboy@house.state.md.us; john.donoghue@house.state.md.us; kathleen.dumais@house.state.md.us; don.dwyer@house.state.md.us; adelaide.eckardt@house.state.md.us; donald.elliott@house.state.md.us; brian.feldman@house.state.md.us; mark.fisher@house.state.md.us; william.frank@house.state.md.us; bill.frick@house.state.md.us; barbara.frush@house.state.md.us; tawanna.gaines@house.state.md.us; ron.george@house.state.md.us; jim.gilchrist@house.state.md.us; glen.glass@house.state.md.us; cheryl.glenn@house.state.md.us; melony.griffith@house.state.md.us; ana.gutierrez@house. state.md.us; guy.guzzone@house.state.md.us; jeannie.haddaway@house.state.md.us; peter.hammen@house.state.md.us; hattie.harrison@house.state.md.us; keith.haynes@house.state.md.us; anne.healey@house.state.md.us; steve.hershey@house.state.md.us; sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us; patrick.hogan@house.state.md.us; marvin.holmes@house.state.md.us; carolyn.howard@house.state.md.us; james.hubbard@house.state.md.us; tom.hucker@house.state.md.us; rick.impallario@house.state.md.us; jolene.ivey@house.state.md.us; jay.jacobs@house.state.md.us; sally.jameson@house.state.md.us; mary.dulany.james@house.state.md.us; adrienne.jones@house.state.md.us; a.wade.kach@house.state.md.us; ariana.kelly@house.state.md.us; kevin.kelly@house.state.md.us; anne.kaiser@house.state.md.us; nicholaus.kipke@house.state.md.us; ben.kramer@house.state.md.us; susan.krebs@house.state.md.us; stephen.lafferty@house.state.md.us; susan.lee@house.state.md.us; maryann.love@house.state.md.us; eric.luedtke@house.state.md.us; james.malone@house.state.md.us; susan.mccomas@house.state.md.us; tony.mcconkey@house.state.md.us; mike.mcdermott@house.state.md.us; brian.mchale@house.state.md.us; maggie.mcintosh@house.state.md.us; delmaggie@aol.com; herb.mcmillan@house.state.md.us; warren.miller@house.state.md.us; joseph.minnick@house.state.md.us; keiffer.mitchell@house.state.md.us; heather.mizeur@house.state.md.us; dan.morhaim@house.state.md.us; dmorhaim@bcpl.net; peter.murphy@house.state.md.us; leroy.myers@house.state.md.us; shirley.nathan.pulliam@house.state.md.us; doyle.niemann@house.state.md.us; wayne.norman@house.state.md.us; nathaniel.oaks@house.state.md.us; anthony.odonnell@house.state.md.us; john.olszewski@house.state.md.us; charles.otto@house.state.md.us; neil.parrott@house.state.md.us; joseline.pena.melnyk@house.state.md.us; shane.pendergrass@house.state.md.us; james.proctor@house.state.md.us; justin.ready@house.state.md.us; kirill.reznik@house.state.md.us; shane.robinson@house.state.md.us; barbara.robinson@house.state.md.us; samuel.rosenberg@house.state.md.us; justin.ross@house.state.md.us; david.rudolph@house.state.md.us; steve.schuh@house.state.md.us; kelly.schulz@house.state.md.us; andrew.serafini@house.state.md.us; luiz.simmons@house.state.md.us; michael.smigiel@house.state.md.us; ted.sophocleus@house.state.md.us; dana.stein@house.state.md.us; donna.stifler@house.state.md.us; nancy.stocksdale@house.state.md.us; melvin.stukes@house.state.md.us; michael.summers@house.state.md.us; kathy.szeliga@house.state.md.us; shawn.tarrant@house.state.md.us; frank.turner@house.state.md.us; veronica.turner@house.state.md.us; kris.valderrama@house.state.md.us; geraldine.valentino@house.state.md.us; joseph.vallario@house.state.md.us; michael.vaughn@house.state.md.us; cathy.vitale@house.state.md.us; jeff.waldstreicher@house.state.md.us; jay.walker@house.state.md.us; mary.washington@house.state.md.us; michael.weir@house.state.md.us; ct.wilson@house.state.md.us; john.wood@house.state.md.us; craig.zucker@house.state.md.us

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Baltimore Delegation

curt.anderson@house.state.md.us; talmadge.branch@house.state.md.us; jill.carter@house.state.md.us; luke.clippinger@house.state.md.us; frank.conaway@house.state.md.us; cheryl.glenn@house.state.md.us; melony.griffith@house.state.md.us; peter.hammen@house.state.md.us; hattie.harrison@house.state.md.us; keith.haynes@house.state.md.us; keiffer.mitchell@house.state.md.us; nathaniel.oaks@house.state.md.us; barbara.robinson@house.state.md.us; samuel.rosenberg@house.state.md.us; melvin.stukes@house.state.md.us; shawn.tarrant@house.state.md.us; mary.washington@house.state.md.us

Home schooling’s appeal spreads to mainstream

admin — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:27:21 +0000
By Lauren Keiper Lauren Keiper – Wed Mar 16, 10:15 am ET BOSTON (Reuters) – Studying at Harvard, meeting for group French lessons, volunteering at a hospital and spending a day in the wilderness are just a glimpse into a typical day of home schooling, which looks dramatically different today from just a mere decade ago.

Thia Megia American Idol is Virtual Schooled!

admin — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:19:07 +0000

Thia M. is a CAVA 10th grade student and, oh, by the way, a Season 10 top twelve finalist on American Idol. Congratulations, Thia!
American Idol

Why 2011 will be a Year of Growth for School Choice

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 04:31:40 +0000

This article is reprinted from The Foundation of Educational Choice.

Why 2011 will be a Year of Growth for School Choice

Monday, February 28, 2011

School Choice Advocate
Why 2011 will be a Year of Growth for School Choice

This year is expected by many to be one of tremendous gains for school choice. Years of hard work by education reformers across the nation are coming to fruition, producing promising proposals in a number of states — including a number of bold, Friedman-style reforms.

A “perfect storm” of conditions — including increased public awareness and support, strained state budgets in need of significant pruning, and lawmakers recognizing the value of options — has created the climate for broad, significant progress.

With the seeds planted, the ground cultivated, and our supporters educating others on the fruits these programs could bear, we’re confident new educational opportunities for thousands of families will blossom in the months ahead.

* Alaska has introduced a bill to provide universal public and private school choice.
* Arizona is introducing Education Savings Accounts for low-income and special needs students.
* Local advocates in Georgia will likely re-introduce a bill allowing military families, veterans, and foster children to receive a voucher to attend the school of their choice.
* A growing school choice coalition in Idaho expects to introduce legislation extending tax credits for children attending private schools.
* Illinois will again work to pass a scholarship program for students in Chicago’s failing and overcrowded schools.
* Building on the passage of a tax-credit scholarship program in 2008, Indiana lawmakers are considering what would be the country’s largest voucher program. The sliding-scale voucher would make scholarships available to about 80 percent of the state’s school-age children. Indiana lawmakers also would extend the current tax-credit scholarship program to middle-class families, increase the percentage of the tax credit donors receive when they give to scholarship-granting organizations, and increase the total program cap by $10 million automatically when 90 percent of the current cap is reached.
* Kansas will be considering special needs and broad-based tax-credit scholarship language, in addition to a number of accountability reforms made popular by Florida.
* Kentucky is working to pass its first charter school law.
* Maryland has again introduced legislation to create a tax-credit scholarship program. The program would provide scholarships for students to attend private schools and provide support to innovative educational programs in public schools.
* Following a dramatic shift in the makeup of Montana’s legislature, school choice advocates are working to pass a tax-credit scholarship program with universal eligibility.
* The state of Nebraska is considering a tax-credit scholarship program authorizing a credit of 65 percent to individuals, businesses, estates, and trusts contributing to scholarship-granting organizations. This proposal would allow both low- and middle-income families to receive a scholarship for their children’s education.
* In New Jersey the Opportunity Scholarship Act is already moving quickly through the legislative process. This pilot program could provide support to 134,000 children in New Jersey’s toughest districts.
* North Carolina will be working to improve its charter school law and to pass a tax-credit scholarship program for low-income students.
* In Ohio a broad tax-credit scholarship program has been introduced. It would be the state’s fourth school choice program. Ohio is expected to lift its existing scholarship program’s cap, which was exceeded last year by parent demand. The state will broaden its autism scholarship program to include all children with special needs, and will increase the voucher amount for eligible students in Cleveland’s school choice program. Lawmakers also will be considering innovative Education Savings Accounts.
* Oklahoma, which passed its first school choice program last year, is considering a tax-credit scholarship program for students in households with incomes up to 300 percent of Free and Reduced-Price Lunch. More than 520,000 Oklahoma students would be eligible under that limit.
* Oregon is again considering a tax-credit scholarship proposal. Should the program pass, children in households with incomes up to two and one-half times the income standard used to qualify for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch would be eligible.
* Pennsylvania is considering a voucher proposal that would allow Free and Reduced-Price Lunch-eligible students in failing schools to qualify for scholarships. In its third year of phase-in, more than 300,000 students could participate.
* A South Carolina proposal would support as many as 775,000 students. It would include tax-credit scholarships for low- and middle-income families, a personal income tax credit for out-of-pocket expenses for current private school and home school families, and scholarships for current private school students funded by the cost savings generated from the public-to-private transfer students.
* Two pieces of legislation have been introduced in Tennessee that would provide scholarships to students in Memphis City Schools and to students statewide with special needs.
* West Virginia is considering a special-needs scholarship program.