DENVER—The Colorado Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to approve rules establishing new quality standards for online schools and make them subject to the same scrutiny as traditional schools when they miss those standards.
The state also will more thoroughly scrutinize new applications for online schools.
The revisions result from 2011 legislation that was passed after critics accused online schools of poor performance.
“We’re trying to be much more rigorous upfront about quality and best practices so we see hopefully stronger programs going forward,” said program director Amy Anderson told The Denver Post ( ) before the vote.
About 2 percent of Colorado public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade now attend school online, taking all their courses over the Internet. Some of the schools are for-profit businesses. Some lawmakers contend they boost enrollment rates before an Oct. 1 count date to increase the state funding they get based on how many students they have.
Records show that in 2010, 15,249 pupils attended online schools.
In 2007, then-Gov. Bill Ritter signed a measure that set standards for online school courses after a critical state audit said the results were not being tracked. Another measure he signed regulates how online educators are paid.
Reviews of the 2005-06 school year by the state auditor and the Education Department said at least one school could not prove how much time students were spending in online courses and had co-mingled taxpayer money with private-school tuition.
Before the Board of Education vote Wednesday, board member Elaine Gantz Berman had said the new rules would be a start toward fixing some of the problems pointed out by opponents.
Some online schools have come under fire for enrollment numbers that start high in the fall, then plummet.
Online school leaders say attrition rates reflect the often-challenged and troubled students they serve. Students who do remain in online schools tend to do worse on standardized tests than their brick-and-mortar counterparts.
Some online schools are operated within a single school district, but 22 can enroll students statewide.
More changes for online schools could be coming. At least one state lawmaker has announced plans to introduce legislation that could change how online schools receive funding.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
