Guest Commentary: Bypass Union Teachers Through Independent Online Schools

Lance T. Izumi is senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute and co-author of Short-Circuited: The Challenges Facing the Online Learning Revolution in California (Pacific Research Institute, 2010). In an essay published by the Washington Times, Izumi took a look at the recent union protests in Wisconsin and how virtual education may play a part in changing the dynamics between unions and public education.
"If parents had greater school-choice alternatives, students could have quickly left the regular government school system when their government-union teachers abandoned them. One promising choice alternative is online and virtual learning," Izumi writes.
"If reformers like (Gov. Scott) Walker want to overhaul their unionized school systems, they should attach funding to each individual student so he or she can take that funding to the school of his or her choice, whether a regular public school, brick-and-mortar charter school, virtual charter or private school," Izumi continues.
Click here to read the complete essay.