Education Minnesota, the state teachers' union, filed suit on Thursday to shut down the Minnesota Virtual Academy, an online school that is a partnership between a small Minnesota school district and K12, the online curriculum provider founded by former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett. The school, which sends parents instructional materials through the mail and online, allows parents and other "responsible adults" to guide their children through the daily lesson plans, but requires all students to take state tests and employs licensed teachers to help the "responsible adults." The union claims the school is ineligible for state funding because parents, not licensed teachers, are the primary instructors. State officials disagree, maintaining that state law mandates only that a licensed teacher must "assemble and deliver" the online learning product, which the Virtual Academy does.
"Suit seeks to stop online program," by John Welsh, Pioneer Press, October 10, 2003