Guest Commentary: Virtual School Enrollment Cap Stifles Choice

As a way to recognize National School Choice Week, James Wigderson, wrote an article for the Wisconsin-based MacIver Institute.
In the article, Wigderson said members of the Wisconsin legislature have several important choices ahead of them as they look at the educational landscape in this state.
"The temptation is to sweep our state’s educational problems under the rug with one heck of a broom for an excuse, 'there is no money.' To give in to that temptation would be wrong and there are steps the legislature can take to restore educational innovation and improve educational access without breaking the bank.
"One of the steps would be to eliminate the cap on online public charter school enrollment. The cap is one of the most shameful educational policy holdovers from the Gov. Jim Doyle era, and it needs to be repealed."
Click here to read Wigderson's complete article and find out why he believes lifting the enrollment cap on the state's virtual schools would "be one significant move to increase school choice options for Wisconsin families."

Guest Commentary: Oregon Shouldn't Limit Access to Virtual Schools

The Portland Oregonian Editorial Board said it bluntly, "A state where a quarter of the students drop out of public schools ought to have better things to do than figuring out ways to limit access" to virtual schools.
The editorial writers also wonder why "once the state is convinced that online students are receiving a quality education, why should it prevent other families from making the same choice?"
Many Oregon parents who want to enrollment their children in virtual course, but cannot because of state-imposed enrollment caps, are asking the same question.