Will Illinois embrace education innovation?

Illinois legislators have a major decision to make: should the state adopt policies that will enable it to become a future hub of education innovation or should it institute laws that needlessly delay the policies necessary to create a school system that embraces technology? Thus far, Illinois has chosen the latter path. In fact, Gov. Pat...

Illinois legislators have a major decision to make: should the state adopt policies that will enable it to become a future hub of education innovation or should it institute laws that needlessly delay the policies necessary to create a school system that embraces technology?

Thus far, Illinois has chosen the latter path. In fact, Gov. Pat Quinn recently signed a bill establishing a one-year moratorium on charter schools with virtual-learning components outside of Chicago.

The state also has an unnecessary law that requires students to get the approval of their home district to attend the Illinois Virtual School. Because districts are reluctant to cede some of their funding to the virtual school, enrollment is low – only 3,169 students across the state chose to take at least one class through the school last year.

Thankfully, there are a few innovative programs in place in the state.  Virtual Opportunities Inside a School Environment Academy in Chicago uses blended learning to help students learn, while theChicago Virtual Charter School offers most of its courses online.

Still, Illinois has a long way to go.

It should look to a state like Florida to determine what steps it should take to begin transforming itself into a hub for education innovation.

According to a report from the International Association of K-12 Online Learning, Florida is leading all other states when it comes to education innovation. Here are some of the reasons why:

• Florida was the first state in the country to legislate that all K-12 students will have full- and part-time virtual learning options.
• The first two virtual charter schools in the country opened in Florida.
• The Florida Virtual School is the largest state virtual school in the country, serving more than 148,000 students last year.

What steps can Illinois take to become the nationwide leader in education innovation?

• Repeal the one-year moratorium on charter schools with virtual learning components outside of Chicago.
• Allow students to attend the Illinois Virtual School without district approval.
• Allow multiple virtual schooling options statewide.
• Embrace Education Savings Accounts, or ESAs. These accounts, where students receive a certain percentage of state and local funding, allow parents to design their child’s education. Families in Arizona spend money in their ESAs on online courses, private school courses and personalized tutoring.

These policies, as well as others, will be discussed at the Illinois Policy Institute’s Chicago Digital Learning Symposium. This event aims to lay the groundwork for how Illinois can become a leader in education innovation.

At the Chicago Digital Learning Symposium, attendees will learn about the national, state and local digital learning landscape, hear from educators who built digital learning programs from the ground up, access cutting-edge developers who are creating technology aids that can be used in the classroom, gain the knowledge of how to successfully incorporate digital learning in their classrooms and understand the policy reforms that can advance digital learning deployment.

Panelists include Michael Horn from the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Matthew Wicks from the International Association of K-12 Online Learning and Robert Enlow from the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.

Here are the details:

Chicago Digital Learning Symposium hosted by the Illinois Policy Institute
Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Time: 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Union League Club of Chicago, 65 W. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604

If you are interested in attending, click here.